Chapter 1408 Can't move

On the morning of April 24, the attack on Brunei by the 14th Front Army and the 7th Front Army of the Island Army officially kicked off. In order to wipe out the German army entrenched in Brunei City in one fell swoop, the island army can be said to be the main force.

The 1st Division, the 10th Division, the 19th Division, the 23rd Division, the 26th Division, the 103rd Division, the 105th Division, and the 2nd Tank Division directly under the 14th Front Army of the Japanese Army. * The 55th and 58th Brigades, the 1st Advancement Group, and the 68th Infantry Brigade were all assembled in Brunei. Although the 35th Army and 41st Army under the 14th Front Army were almost completely lost, the troops directly under the 14th Front Army suffered little loss. This makes the 14th Front Army still have a very strong strength.

The 7th Front Army of the Japanese Army entered the battle late, so their main force is still preserved. The subordinate 16th Army, 25th Army and 29th Army, as well as the 46th Division directly under it, and the independent and mixed 26th Brigade, all still have strong combat capabilities.

In terms of military strength, the total strength of the 14th Front Army and the 7th Front Army of the island country army has reached 180,000 and 120,000 respectively, which is four times the total strength of the German army defending Brunei.

"My lords, victory is just around the corner! As long as we can conquer Brunei City and wipe out the Germans entrenched here in one fell swoop, we will be able to win the final victory!" Lieutenant General Masahiro Honma said excitedly.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Commander!" A group of division heads and brigade heads replied one after another.

Everyone also swept away the previous decadent mood, and hoped to defeat the Germans in this battle. If it can win, it seems that it will be able to justify the name of the island army. And what awaits them will also be a lot of glory.

"The attack begins!" Lieutenant General Masahiro Honma personally issued the order to attack.

The artillery of the island army, which had been prepared for a long time, began to fire violently at the German positions.

The two front armies of the island country army add up to 12 divisions, 10 independent mixed brigades, one advance group and one infantry brigade. The artillery of these troops are all assembled, and they undoubtedly possess extremely powerful strength. If all assembled, there are 636 75mm mountain guns, 258 75mm field guns and 24 120mm howitzers.

Such artillery strength is undoubtedly very powerful. Even though the German army has 5 infantry divisions in Brunei, the artillery they belong to is also very powerful. But in terms of quantity, it is not as good as that of the Japanese army.

The artillery of the five German infantry divisions combined has only 90 150mm heavy howitzers, 180 105mm light howitzers and 270 75mm field guns. In terms of quantity, it is only less than 60% of the total artillery of the island country army. It's just that the German Army has an advantage in terms of artillery caliber and power. This makes them not at a disadvantage in artillery battles. It can even rely on the power and range of the artillery to suppress the artillery of the island army and cause greater casualties and losses to the artillery of the island army.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The artillery on both sides began to fire violently, and the shells shuttled through the sky one after another, smashing hard at the opponent's position. It's just that the artillery bombardment of the Japanese army aimed at the defense line of the German infantry. The main target of the German artillery was the artillery positions of the island army. When the island army did not launch an offensive, destroying their artillery was the main purpose of the German army. Once the infantry of the island army launches an attack, all the cannons will turn to pour shells at the infantry of the island army.

"Damn it, why are the German artillery still so powerful?" Lieutenant General Masahiro Honma felt as if his heart was bleeding when he saw his own artillery positions being taken down one after another. He even began to speculate, did the main force of the Germans really retreat? Otherwise, how could it still have such a powerful artillery.

"Honma-kun, could this be a conspiracy?" Lieutenant General Tanaka Shizuki was a little worried again.

"It shouldn't be! The German artillery is already very strong. They have assembled several infantry divisions in Brunei. It is understandable to have such a powerful artillery!" Lieutenant General Masahiro Honma said boldly.

At this point, he will naturally not admit that all this is a trap. In that case, wouldn't his efforts become a joke? What's more serious, I'm afraid they will all fall into crisis.

"I hope the attack will go well!" Lieutenant General Tanaka Shizuki said.

It's just that Lieutenant General Tanaka Shizuki's expectations are destined to be unfulfilled.

The island army is completely incomparable with the German army in terms of artillery. In particular, they lack the large-caliber heavy artillery that can confront the German army. Although the 75mm mountain artillery and field artillery are powerful, they obviously cannot compete with large-caliber heavy artillery. The artillery of the Japanese army may have an advantage when dealing with Asian countries. However, in front of the world's most powerful army, this seems a bit unsightly.

However, in order to be able to defeat the German army, the island country army struggled to bear large losses, and also provided sufficient fire support for the infantry's offensive. They almost covered the German frontline positions with bullet rain. Many fortifications were also destroyed. It's just that the actual losses caused to the German army were not large. The power of the 75mm mountain artillery and field artillery is indeed not enough.

After the firepower was prepared, the island army's attack began. On the 20-kilometer-long defense line of the German army, the Japanese army invested ten infantry regiments at one time, that is, more than 38,000 people launched an attack.

You know, the German army only deployed two infantry divisions on the line of defense. The troops invested by the Japanese army in the first round even exceeded the total strength of the two infantry divisions of the German army.

A fierce battle ensued, and the Japanese army rushed towards the German defense line like a tide, trying to tear the German defense line apart. However, what awaited them was intense firepower like pouring rain.

The officers and soldiers of the German army used powerful firepower to contain the offensive momentum of the Japanese army. Moreover, the losses of the island army began to soar.

Although, the generals of the island country army seem to have expected that this will be a big battle with heavy losses. However, the astonishing loss still shocked them greatly.

In addition, fighter planes of the Luftwaffe also rushed to the battlefield for reinforcements, dive bombers, and ground attack planes bombed with powerful aerial bombs. And those fighter jets strafed with machine guns and machine guns.

These have further increased the casualties of the island country army, and also made Lieutenant General Masahiro Homma and Lieutenant General Tanaka Shizuo realize that it is very difficult to capture Brunei City and defeat the German army.