The sun never sets

The time limit was abolished in 1902 and it became a permanent law.

Now, this law has become an unsolvable contradiction between China and the United States. Before the Chinese Exclusion Act is repealed, China cannot reach any political or military cooperation with the United States. Although economic exchanges are still close, the relationship between the two governments is rapidly alienating.

Roosevelt himself pushed the Chinese Exclusion Act to become a permanent law. Now he wants to join hands with China to deal with Japan. How is this possible? Even if he canceled the Chinese Exclusion Act, Lin Yongchang would not deal with Japan. Japan is so well behaved now. Not only has it fully opened its market to China, but it has also used the same technical standards and writing, and provided hundreds of thousands of industrial workers to help China's construction. Whatever happens, Japan is the first to rush to the front. Such a good thug wants China to give up for a loan of $100 million?

China will not give up Japan unless it pays more money... well, even if it's $100 million for free, it won't work. Britain is annoying, and the United States is feared. China's biggest threat now is Britain, and the biggest threat in the future is the United States. Others don't know, but doesn't Lin Yongchang know what kind of virtue the future king's teacher will be? The United States inherited the mantle of Britain and provoked wars all over the world. What it did is even worse than Britain.

Why provide aid to the Philippines? Why strengthen Japan's navy? It is to cut off the claws of the United States that are stretched into Asia. If possible, he would also support Japan to take Hawaii, so that the United States can be blocked in the eastern Pacific. This is not impossible. Hawaii has not been in the hands of the United States for many years. If the monks can touch it, why can't I?

The problem is that Hawaii is too far away. The tyranny of distance is a debuff for the US Navy, and the same is true for the Japanese Navy. The distance from the Japanese mainland to Hawaii is more than 406 miles. When the Japanese Navy sails there, it will be the turn of the Americans to wait for them. So the Japanese are ready to put the battlefield near the Philippines. As long as the main force of the US Navy is destroyed, Hawaii will be a ripe fruit that will fall by itself. At this time, Hawaii has not yet been fortified, and the mm caliber fortress guns have not been installed on Oahu.

On the contrary, as long as the main force of the US Navy is still there, attacking Hawaii will be a big adventure with a very low success rate.

In order to increase the Japanese chances of winning, Lin Yongchang brought out more high-tech, including the "powerful Type 93 oxygen torpedo", better-performing armored steel and better armor-piercing shells.

Chapter 450: Determination

The situation in the Philippines was getting worse and worse, and Governor MacArthur was only able to control two-thirds of the area. On these humid and sultry islands, there were battles every day, and although the number of American casualties was not high, the number of non-combat casualties increased rapidly, and the number of American soldiers had dropped to less than 40,000.

The local indigenous puppet troops basically had no combat effectiveness. When they encountered the guerrillas, they were often overwhelmed even though they had four or five times the number of troops. Some puppet troops secretly sold weapons and ammunition to the guerrillas, exchanged them for RMB, and went to the areas controlled by the People's Party of the Philippines to buy things. The United States positioned the Philippines as a colony, only thinking about plundering, and had no intention of building it into a native land. The economy collapsed beyond recognition.

MacArthur discovered several cases of collusion between puppet troops and guerrillas. The furious governor shot hundreds of people, ordered the confiscation of some puppet troops' weapons, and also took measures on the remaining puppet troops, such as: each gun was only equipped with five bullets. The drastic measures taken by MacArthur worked, cutting off one of the guerrillas' ways to obtain weapons and ammunition, and greatly weakening the combat effectiveness and morale of the puppet troops. The Philippine People's Army and the Volunteer Army took the opportunity to launch an offensive and liberated more than a dozen towns.

Obviously, 40,000 American troops could not solve the problem in the Philippines. Governor MacArthur asked for reinforcements and supplies from the rear every day, but the supplies he received were getting less and less. After the relationship between the US government and the Japanese government deteriorated, the US began to restrict the business of Japanese people in North America. Japan then sent ships to evacuate Japanese citizens from the United States and sent a fleet to cruise in the waters near the Philippines, stopping American ships for inspection at any time, saying that there were weapons of mass destruction on board.

The US government protested, but it was useless. The Japanese Navy still made trouble every now and then. The US Navy sent out escort warships, but cruisers and destroyers were definitely no match for battleships. Facing 280mm and 305mm caliber cannons, the US warships could only stop and accept inspections. There were also a few captains with bad tempers who rushed forward despite the Japanese Navy's warning fire, but the cargo ships that followed them could not force their way in.........

Later, the American ship hoisted the British flag, which made the Japanese dare not take action. But the flag is not so easy to hoist. The British government charged a high fee and openly mocked the Americans for their cowardice.

"Where is our fleet?"

The New York Times, The Washington Times and other newspapers asked in bold black letters: "Why should we tolerate the insults of the Japanese?"

"President Roosevelt advocated that a strong navy is the foundation of the United States. What is our navy doing now?"

"Even though the Japanese only had eight battleships, the president still believed that we needed a hundred battleships to safeguard America's maritime rights."

Isolationism is very serious in the United States because they are afraid of being beaten by the British.

The Americans gathered their troops and marched northwards with great momentum, intending to turn the whole of Canada into the shape of the United States. Then, the White House was burned down by Canadian militia. It was because the Canadian militia set a big fire that the Americans had to use white to cover up the traces of the fire, which gave rise to the name of the White House.

The Japanese government closely followed the movements of the United States and had been stirring up public opinion in the United States, hoping to force Roosevelt to send out the United States' large fleet. Akiyama Saneyuki formulated a war plan against the United States, and the most important step was to attract the main force of the US Navy to the vicinity of the Philippines. This was a prerequisite for a naval decisive battle. If the Americans did not come, all plans could not be carried out. Only by allowing the US Navy to run to the Far East, nearly 10,000 kilometers away, would the Japanese Navy have a chance to annihilate the enemy.

However, Theodore Roosevelt was too patient and waited until the American dreadnought was launched. With the addition of a pre-dreadnought launched a few months ago, the number of American battleships reached 18. The Japanese Navy also added a dreadnought, bringing the number of battleships to 9. The ratio of the number of capital ships between the United States and Japan changed from 16:8 to 18:9, which seemed to have not changed much.

It was already late September, and the morale of the American troops trapped in Manila, Angeles, and Basud was getting low. In order to boost morale, Governor MacArthur formulated another large-scale combat plan, with the US military as the main force, and launched a large-scale sweep. During the sweep, the US military adopted the "Three Alls Policy" and "Scorched Earth Policy" and launched a brutal massacre of the Filipinos.

The US military's actions were extremely brutal. They nailed babies and mothers together with bayonets, skinned people alive, drove all men, women, old and young into streams, and beat them into pulp with machine guns. The Americans had done these things before, but the Philippines was no longer the Philippines it once was. When the US military launched a sweep, the Philippine People's Army and the Volunteer Army launched a tit-for-tat "counter-sweep".

Volunteers used cameras to take photos of the brutality of the US military. Those bloody photos caused a great shock in China. Parades broke out in many places. Students and workers held up banners and shouted "Down with the US imperialists!" The population in rural areas is not as dense as in cities, so it is not easy to organize large parades. However, militia organizations in many villages wrote letters to the central government, hoping that troops could be sent to rescue the Filipino brothers.

China has suffered from the invasion of the great powers and can empathize with the Philippines. The atrocities committed by the Americans in the Philippines are outrageous and cannot help but remind the Chinese of the events of the Gengzi Year. People from all over the country began to boycott American products spontaneously. Department stores removed American products overnight and replaced them with British and German products. Some Chinese merchants also took the opportunity to seize the market for American products. After five or six years of development, China can produce many things by itself. However, due to inertia and path dependence, American products still account for the largest share in China. Taking this opportunity, everyone squeezed out American products together.

The people were forming a wave of opposition to the United States, and soldiers and instructors in the army also volunteered to fight. Lin Yongchang once again felt the will of the people and the tide of the times. He personally lit the flames and opened the curtain of a new era. The sparks had turned into flames that burned the old world to ashes. Even the flames he lit could not put out the fire that was rising to the sky.

Japan, Korea, Ryukyu and other countries jointly petitioned the Chinese government to send troops to the South China Sea to help the Filipino people resist the evil American colonizers. Gu Gancheng led the comrades of the Philippine People's Party to give a speech in Taiyuan, calling on all Asians to unite, "Asia is Asia for Asians!"

Lin Yongchang could have stopped the Japanese and the Filipinos from doing this, but why should he stop them? Since the tide of the times was already so turbulent, he might as well follow this tide and smash the old world.

It's just the United States, it's not like we haven't fought them before. Well, if you want to make up your mind to go to war with the United States, you still need some determination and courage. After all, it is the world's number one industrial power with an annual steel production of more than 20 million tons.

On October 1, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a public statement, announcing the formation of the Volunteer Army Headquarters and sending a joint force of 30,000 troops composed of China, Japan, Mongolia, Korea and Siberia into the Philippines to fight for the independence and national liberation of the Filipino people.

Chapter 451 King Bomb

"Mr. Rockefeller, our country's actions are out of morality, not deliberately targeting the United States." Tang Shaoyi said sincerely: "It is just to save the people of the Philippines. Your soldiers have really gone too far."

Roukeyi had always acted like a gentleman in front of Tang Shaoyi before, but this time he didn't care about maintaining his image. He shouted angrily, "This is betrayal! It's an insult to the United States of America! Damn XXXX, this is a declaration of war!"

The Volunteer Army is just a name. Damn the Chinese, sending troops to embarrass the United States while pretending to be innocent! Only the United States can do this!

Tang Shaoyi stared at the angry American ambassador in astonishment, his face turning from white to red, and then from red to white. As Rockhurst yelled and cursed, some of Tang Shaoyi's persistence in his heart was shattered. After a long time, when Rockhurst got tired of cursing and stopped, Tang Shaoyi said calmly: "Mr. Ambassador, do you have anything else to say?"

Rockhill gasped and then shouted: "The great United States of America will never accept it!"

"It seems you have nothing

If there is nothing else to do, please allow me to leave."

Tang Shaoyi behaved generously and appropriately. He ignored Rockhill, an American, and turned to leave the American Embassy. Rockhill was trembling with anger at first, but then he came to his senses. He raised his hand and wanted to say something, but when he thought about the current situation between China and the United States, he couldn't say anything. China asked the United States to abolish the "Chinese Exclusion Act". As a member of the great powers, China should not be treated like this. Would the US government dare to use the "Chinese Exclusion Act" against Britain or Germany? Absolutely not.

But Rockhill would not attribute the problem to the United States. He believed that China could defeat Russia and achieve its current achievements because the US government had made great efforts. Think about how enthusiastic China was towards the United States a few years ago? What about now? After clinging to Germany's thigh, it immediately turned its back on the United States.

Rockhill once again scolded the Chinese for their perfidy and shamelessness. When he was tired of scolding, he remembered that he needed to pass the message to Washington. The situation of the US military in the Philippines was very bad. The brutal killing did not suppress the resistance of the Filipinos, but instead caused more Filipinos to stand on the side of the rebels. Governor MacArthur's rule in the Philippines was already shaky, and now the Chinese sent another 30,000 regular troops to the Philippines. What would happen next?

After the replacement of equipment, the U.S. Army's combat effectiveness has increased a lot, but strength and weakness are determined by comparison. Compared with the Filipinos, the U.S. military is strong. Compared with the impoverished Spain in Europe, the U.S. military is not so strong. Several battles with the Spaniards on land were not very smooth. The victory was achieved because the Spanish fleet was destroyed and the sea control was seized. Victory on land was only a matter of time. The United States is stronger and has almost crushed Spain. I can do it too.

But now the huge US fleet is still on the west coast, and this time it is the turn of the Americans to experience what it feels like to be blockaded by the fleet. Without the superior navy, the combat effectiveness of the US Army is hard to describe, and it can be said that it is fighting back and forth with the guerrillas. In the jungles of the Philippines, the Americans suffered a lot and lost a series of strongholds.

Rockhill read many descriptions of the battlefield in the Philippines in Chinese and Japanese newspapers. He was skeptical of the words that boasted about the bravery of the Japanese and Chinese, but when he looked at the map, he saw that the US military was indeed retreating. The battle had even reached the vicinity of Manila.

The Chinese government sent volunteers, obviously not wanting to completely break off relations with the United States. After all, several integrated factories ordered from the United States have not yet been shipped, and the Chinese also have a lot of business in the United States, such as communication equipment and drugs. The patents are in the hands of the Chinese, and they can make a lot of money from the United States every year. At this time, Americans don’t care about patents. They will copy whatever they can, and they don’t care about "intellectual property patents" at all. But some things are shipped directly from China to the United States. American scientists have reverse-engineered and obtained some results, but it will take a long time to form industrial production. For example, some steps in the pharmaceutical process require specific temperatures, and some steps require special catalysts or reaction enzymes. Without these core secrets, Americans can only try again and again.

There are calls in the US to confiscate the property of Chinese companies and joint ventures in the US, and to accuse the Chinese of stealing US technology. Some members of Congress have proposed to order China to hand over technical information and formulas, and this has been supported by a large number of people.

The relationship between China and the United States will deteriorate rapidly, not only because of the Chinese Exclusion Act, but also because of various reasons. The main reason is that China's rapidly increasing strength has seized the US market. Although the United States has entered a new period of prosperity, it will not watch Chinese goods circulate everywhere in the US market.

Rockhill was a top student who had attended university and had a clear understanding of everything. However, he could not make money if he was not allowed to do so. China had stopped placing additional orders with the United States. All orders for various machines and equipment required in the "First Five-Year Plan" were given to European countries such as Britain, Germany, and France. Ambassadors from the United States and many other countries have multiple missions, and brokerage is one of them. China no longer places orders with the United States, and Rockhill's "brokerage fees" and "benefits" were reduced by half. Other things can be tolerated, but this is intolerable.

But he had to endure it. What else could he do? Well, there was a way. Rockhill sent a long encrypted telegram to Washington. In the telegram, he said that the Chinese government was implementing their so-called first "Five-Year Plan", and its military strength had been greatly weakened. It did not have enough financial resources to support another war. The Philippine issue was more dominated by Japan, and China's dictatorship itself had no desire to participate. Rockhill suggested that Washington launch a decisive attack on Japan to completely destroy the maritime power of the Eastern nations. The United States of America could take this opportunity to take the entire Pacific Ocean.

In order to strengthen Washington's determination to send out the main fleet, Rockhill also listed various data to prove that the strength of the Japanese Navy was less than half of that of the US Navy, and that the Chinese had huge expenditures on various key projects.

The U.S. Army has always been regarded as a weakling. Once it lands, it will most likely be beaten by the People's Army. However, the U.S. Navy is not bad. It ranks only behind Britain and Germany and is the world's third largest naval power. Wouldn't it be easy for it to crush the Japanese Navy? I really don't understand what the President is thinking. He has a trump card in his hand, but he is still hesitant!

Chapter 452 MacArthur's Good Idea

China announced that it would send volunteer troops to the Philippines. This was the last straw that broke the camel's back for Theodore Roosevelt. At this point, no matter how many concerns Roosevelt had, he could not withstand the pressure from within the United States and could only send out the main fleet of the US Navy with great concerns.

18 battleships, dozens of light warships, plus supply ships and other auxiliary ships, the Americans sent hundreds of ships, more than sailors and more than marines, and that's not all. According to the plan of the U.S. Navy Department, if the fleet progresses smoothly in the Western Pacific, a large transport fleet will be sent to transport tens of thousands of people at a time. It is impossible for so many ships and people to rush directly from the west coast of the United States to the Philippines. The fleet will rest in Hawaii for a while before continuing the long journey.

But this would be a very long journey. Before this, the US Navy had never deployed all its main fleets to such a distant place. The US Navy's main fleet moved quickly, but the Volunteer Army moved even faster. In early October, the US military's mopping-up operation had not yet ended, and the Volunteer Army had already launched an operation to liberate the Philippine Islands.

The plan of the Volunteer Army General Headquarters was simple. First, launch an attack on the front to attract the main force of the US Army to Manila, the most important place, and then send elite troops to cut off the enemy's retreat to the Bataan Peninsula and surround the US Army. The combat plan has a clear People's Army style, concentrating troops and firepower on the battlefield to form a double advantage over the enemy on the front, and then outflanking and annihilating the enemy.

Battles on land are important, but battles at sea are the most important.

While the Volunteer Army was bombarding the Gulf of Kayan, the Japanese Navy stepped up its blockade of the Philippines. For some time before, American merchant ships and transport ships could avoid interception by flying the British flag, but now this method no longer works. The Japanese Navy announced that it would hold exercises in the waters around the Philippines and prohibited any ships from entering or leaving. China, Ryukyu, North Korea, and Siberia also announced that they would hold military exercises in the South China Sea, blocking all routes to the Philippines.

Because of the interception and detention of British ships, Jordan protested to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, believing that the Chinese actions hindered the free passage of the high seas. The British ambassador to Japan also made the same protest, but no one paid attention to their protest. If protests were useful, what would the navy be for?

Zhu Erdian continued to protest, but in his heart he was hoping that China, Japan and the United States would fight as soon as possible. Fight, fight, it would be best if the battleships of these evil countries were destroyed together!

On October 10, the main force of the Volunteer Army of 17 people, plus the Philippine People's Army, a total of more than troops, semi-surrounded Angeles from the north, east and west after six days of fighting.

Angeles is located between Manila and Dagupan. It is not an industrial town or an important town, but it is one of the defense nodes outside Manila and a major transportation route connecting Manila and Dagupan. If Angeles is lost, the thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of Philippine puppet troops in Dagupan will be completely surrounded. Governor MacArthur cannot give up Angeles. He has few troops to begin with. If he loses thousands more American soldiers and tens of thousands of puppet troops, the area he can control will be further reduced. Every time he loses a piece of land, his future becomes bleaker.

The best way is to withdraw Dagupan's troops and strengthen Angeles' defense, but the best time to withdraw has been missed. If you want to withdraw the troops now, you must first repel the Volunteer Army. It is definitely not enough to rely on Angeles and Dagupan's troops alone.

"Damn the Chinese! Damn Congress!"

MacArthur lost his temper in the building, loudly scolding the Chinese for being despicable and shameless, and also saying that Congress was holding him back. Brigadier General Pershing waited for a while, and seeing that Governor MacArthur had no intention of stopping, he could only interrupt him loudly, "Governor, reinforcements must be sent immediately!"

"There are less than 20,000 defenders in Manila!"

In MacArthur's eyes, those puppet soldiers were not human beings. The combat effectiveness of tens of thousands of puppet soldiers in Manila was questionable, and they ate so much. If it weren't for the "requisition" of a batch of food from the Filipinos, MacArthur would have started to worry about the food problem.

"We must send reinforcements!" Pershing emphasized this point again, "If we lose Angeles, we will have to fight the Battle of Manila! Believe me, you would never want to see that situation!"

Pershing graduated from the West Point Military Academy. He had fought against Indians in South Dakota, Moroccans and Filipinos. He also went to the Northeast as a member of the military observation group and watched the final showdown between the People's Army and the Russian Army between the White Mountains and the Black Waters. The bloody fight of millions of troops left a very deep impression on Pershing. Tsarist Russia was called the "European steamroller" and was known for its large number of troops. The number of Chinese troops was even larger. The People's Army invested nearly 450,000 combat troops in the Sino-Russian War, as well as two or three times as many logistics support troops. The total number of troops mobilized by the Russians was less than that of the Chinese, but not much less. The fact that a powerful army would mobilize millions of people at any time really shocked Pershing.

Even if the U.S. military is better than the Chinese and Russians, the difference in numbers is difficult to make up. Ancient Chinese military books often say that "quality is more important than quantity", which makes sense, but it should also be viewed dialectically.

When there are enough people and ammunition, the more people the better. Marshal Davout under Emperor Napoleon defeated the 60,000 Prussian army with 30,000 French troops, which was called "winning an unwinnable war."

In the Philippine Islands, the number of American and puppet troops reached nearly 100,000 at its peak, but the number of Philippine rebels was 200,000 to 300,000, or even more. In the jungle, there were guerrillas everywhere. After killing one group, another group would appear.

"Governor, there is no time to hesitate!"

Pershing stepped forward and shouted, "Let me lead the troops to rescue Angeles!"

MacArthur was still a little hesitant until Pershing said he could take all the puppet troops to Angeles, and only half of the American troops would be enough. MacArthur understood what Brigadier General Pershing meant. Those puppet troops were unstable factors, and it might not be a bad thing to consume them. At the very least, it could save a lot of food.

The fleet was on its way. As long as they could hold out until Admiral Dewey arrived, they would win. Even if they lost Angeles, they could still retake it, but MacArthur's future would be affected. The commander-in-chief of the US Army before Arthur MacArthur was dismissed because of poor performance. In the past two years, he did not fight well in the Philippines, and he also had conflicts with the civilian governor William Howard Taft. It was said that there was already a call in Washington to change the commander again.

"Just a rescue? Can't we launch a brave counterattack?"

MacArthur felt that he had found an opportunity to solve the Philippine issue in one fell swoop, and a good idea came to his head.

Chapter 453: Nameless Place

MacArthur also participated in the military observation group and watched the war between China and Russia. If it weren't for the Filipinos making trouble again, he would still be considering the armies and military systems of various Asian countries. The reason he hesitated was not because he didn't want to send reinforcements, but because he wanted to play a big game. Arthur MacArthur, who became a colonel at the age of 19, was never a timid person.

The last time the Filipinos rebelled, he had suppressed it with bloody massacres. MacArthur had long been fed up with endless fighting in the jungle and wanted to have a real decisive battle with the enemy, but those yellow monkeys were extremely cunning and refused to fight head-on. Now the opportunity had finally arrived, and MacArthur was determined to make a big move.

He told Pershing about his plan and was ready to personally lead the troops to carry out the most difficult mission. Pershing was very tempted, but MacArthur was already over 60 years old, so it would be better for him to stay behind and command. Leading the troops to the front line? Wake up, the Governor is no longer a 20-year-old boy!

"Sir, let me lead the troops at the front." Pershing said tactfully: "You need to command all the troops."

MacArthur was a hero of the Battle of Chattanooga in Tennessee during the Civil War. He was a living fossil in the army. But times have changed. MacArthur's courage and brutality are still there, but his fighting style is no longer suitable for the army of the new era. It's okay to let old MacArthur do strategic planning, but it would be a disaster to let him lead the troops on the front line. This is true for both the army and MacArthur himself.

"Huh, do you also think that I am not fit to lead troops in battle?"

Pershing was strict with himself and his subordinates, but MacArthur was his superior. "No, I don't think so, but you need to do more important things than lead the charge like a company commander!"

MacArthur snorted twice. "You have a point." He turned back and forth like an angry bull, and then said to Pershing, "Let's do it! Jack, go ahead and let the Chinese and Japanese see how we Americans fight!"

Pershing had experience in jungle warfare from fighting the Spanish in Cuba, and in that war nearly a decade earlier, he had earned the nicknames “General Hammer” and “Jack of Spades” for his ferocious attacks and strict discipline.

Mabalacat, an unknown place on Luzon Island, the roar of artillery fire gradually stopped. After a difficult battle, the Volunteer Army finally captured the town. The US military seemed a little weak when attacking, and was often beaten to a pulp by machine guns and grenades. When it was the Volunteer Army's turn to attack, they also felt the power of machine guns in defensive battles. According to the experience of the People's Army, under the same morale and technical and tactical levels, it is difficult to break the solid trench system without three times the manpower and firepower.

The U.S. military's offense was insufficient, but its defense was more than enough. They were equipped with many Maxim machine guns and had sufficient ammunition, which caused great casualties to the attacking forces. The United States is the world's first industrial power, and its supply level is much better than that of Russia and Japan. However, the shortcomings of the U.S. military are also obvious. They lack combat experience and do not know how to maximize the firepower of machine guns. When shooting, they will not move their positions in time. They often keep shooting in one place and then are knocked down by the mortars of the People's Army.

After knocking out the machine gun positions of the US troops, all that was left was a bayonet charge followed by a grenade. The Philippine People's Army was several times larger than the US troops, and even if the casualties in the hand-to-hand combat were greater, they could easily win. The US troops would find a way to break through, but the puppet troops were different. Except for a few die-hard Philippine traitors, most of the puppet troops raised their hands and surrendered when they saw the situation was not good. They also had a hard time on the US side, and were beaten.

They were oppressed and bullied, and were even forced to step on landmines with their bodies. They surrendered without any psychological burden.

The volunteers set up an ambush on the retreating route of the US troops and annihilated hundreds of them, but many Americans still escaped. The Spanish ruled the Philippines for a long time and developed the coastal areas, but the inland areas basically remained in their original state. The traffic conditions were very bad, and the volunteers could only block a few main roads. There was really no good way to deal with the Americans who ran into the old forests.

Angeles is the outer defense base of Manila, and Mabalacat is the outer base of Angeles. After liberating Mabalacat, the People's Army's field artillery can directly bombard Angeles. Artillery is the god of war, and now the war is unfolding in the hell of firepower. Mortars are good, but barreled artillery is also indispensable.

The Volunteer Army set up an artillery position on a high ground, and four 105mm howitzers continuously bombarded Angeles. 105mm howitzers are classified as light artillery in Europe, and in Asia, all artillery over 100mm can be considered heavy artillery. Shells continued to fall into the town, houses collapsed in the explosion, and craters were blown out on the ground. From time to time, human body fragments were seen being thrown into the air, and horses and other livestock were seen fleeing into the jungle in panic.

The U.S. military organized a counterattack to retake this unnamed high ground. The terrain here is too good, it is high above the ground and can cover the entire Angeles with artillery fire. If it doesn't take it back, the U.S. military can't stay in the town any longer. It's not that they can't continue to hold on. As long as they can endure endless shelling and huge casualties, they can always find a way to hold on. They were able to hold on even in the situation of Shangganling. How can Angeles not be defended after being hit by more than a hundred shells?

But the US military was not a volunteer army, and its tactical thinking was completely copied from Europe. The "offensive theory" dominated the military. Both MacArthur and Pershing agreed with the "offensive theory". You can't win a war by defense, only offense can defeat the enemy.

The U.S. military launched an offensive and engaged the Philippine People's Army in a fierce battle in the jungle. The Americans had better weapons and equipment and more ammunition; the Filipinos were more numerous and often launched hand-to-hand attacks, and the U.S. military was evenly matched.

“The courage of the Filipinos is admirable.”

Ningji Okamura put down the telescope. "But we can't let our guard down. The artillery on Hill 175 is the key to the victory of this battle. We can't make any mistakes!"

He glanced at his officers with a stern look, "Keep digging the trenches! If the Filipinos are defeated, it will be up to us to defend the artillery positions!"

"Hai!"

Chapter 454: Famous General

The battle between the U.S. military and the Philippine People's Army was fierce and brutal, with both sides using all available means to kill each other. The Americans have always had a tradition of massacres, not counting the past few years, and they killed tens of thousands of Filipinos in mopping-up operations alone. The U.S. military knew very well what would happen to them if they fell into the hands of the Filipinos.

The Philippine People's Army did not disappoint the US military's expectations. No American captured by them survived. After conquering Mabalacat, the Filipinos executed hundreds of captured US prisoners of war. Here, there is only a life-and-death war, and there is no such thing as preferential treatment for prisoners. The US military was also rude to the captured guerrillas and tortured them in various ways.

The American soldiers invented various ways to kill people, such as putting a rope around the guerrillas' necks, driving them to a tree, and then kicking them out. With a "snap", the guerrillas' necks were broken. After the Filipinos learned this method, they also used it on Americans. In the jungles around Angeles, you can see corpses hanging on trees in many places, some of them were American soldiers, and some were Filipinos.

Bloody battles took place in the jungle, around the highlands, and anywhere humans could pass. The Volunteer Army also fought several battles with the Americans, and used the tactic of "infantry infiltration attack" to annihilate thousands of American troops and several times the number of puppet troops. However, the Volunteer Army's attack seemed very dragging. After annihilating the American troops who launched a counterattack, there was no further action, just continuous shelling of Angeles, as if to wipe the town off the face of the earth with shells.

For the Volunteer Army, defeating the enemy in front of them is not a problem, although there will be some casualties. The problem is what to do after the defeat. The environment in the interior of the Philippines is very similar to that in Vietnam. The roads in the jungle are difficult to travel, and it is difficult for heavy equipment to accompany the infantry. Encounters in the wild are often battles between light infantry. The defeated party can use the cover of the jungle to get rid of the pursuers. Even if they are caught up, it is just another fight between light infantry. It is difficult for the US military to wipe out the guerrillas running around in the interior, and it is also difficult for the Volunteer Army to fight an annihilation war. As long as the US military wants to run, they can always find a way to escape.

There are too many islands in the Philippines, and the jungle is too large. The Volunteer Army does not want to tangle with the US military for a long time. It would rather slow down now and wait until all or most of the US troops gather together, and then send out elite troops to attack the enemy's rear, turning the tactical encirclement and annihilation war into a strategic detour and encirclement. As long as the [Operation No. 1] plan succeeds this time, most of the US troops in the Philippines can be annihilated, and the rest will be easy.

During the Napoleonic era, the French army's favorite tactic was to attack in battle.

Defeat the enemy, and then launch a fierce pursuit, destroying the enemy's living forces in the pursuit. In a direct battle with the anti-French alliance, even if the French army can win, it will suffer heavy casualties, but in the pursuit, the casualties will be much smaller, and the results of the battle will be magnified several times.

The People's Army does not like to fight routs, but prefers to fight annihilation battles. Even in a battle involving dozens or hundreds of people, they will try their best to annihilate the enemy, rather than just defeating the enemy.