funbook-pk Chapter 1092 5 Divisions
Chapter 1092 5 Divisions
Vice Minister Wu remained silent for a long time on the other end of the phone, and the military communication line between the two places fell into silence. Even if Vice Minister Wu didn't say it, Li Shaoyi certainly understood.
“Just carry out the orders from the Ministry of Military Affairs properly. Don’t act rashly. I know you want to inflict heavy damage on the Japanese, but you probably haven’t received the latest news. The Japanese have newly trained fifteen divisions in Japan and are now ready to be deployed to the war. This is also one of the reasons for our personnel to retreat. If these people are deployed to the Pujiang battlefield, it will be a very fatal thing for us.”
Li Shaoyi had heard about this before. After all, his men weren't stupid and they would also plant some spies in Japan. He just didn't expect the Japanese to train so quickly. According to the original estimate, they would have to be deployed to the battlefield in at least a few months. Now it seems that they have also adopted a wartime system.
The most important point is that these fifteen divisions are not all of them; this is only the first batch. The Japanese are prepared to occupy Huangpu River and other areas, even if it means deploying more ground troops. They have also held internal meetings to review their actions, emphasizing that they cannot afford to start strong but finish weak. If they retreat when faced with difficulties, all their previous efforts will be wasted.
Of course, the Japanese could choose to increase their troop strength, but we did not have that capability. At the beginning of the War of Resistance, all kinds of elite troops had already arrived, and we had fought what we needed to fight. If we wanted to form a new army, we didn't even have the weapons and equipment. This is the gap between the two countries.
“I understand what Vice Minister Wu is saying, and I know what to do next.”
Li Shaoyi instantly felt weak all over, but after hanging up the phone, looking at his brothers from the 72nd Army, he immediately knew what he had to do. Even if they couldn't hold this place, he still had to do something and couldn't let these Japanese devils be so happy.
Moreover, strategically, Li Shaoyi had also figured it out: we cannot fight them head-on, but we can break up into smaller units. There are plenty of areas around us, and small groups of troops can continue to launch surprise attacks on them. If they want to advance up the Yangtze River, then all the troops will have to land here. So we will form a large number of guerrilla units and use air support to snipe at the Japanese army step by step.
Eliminate the maximum number of Japanese soldiers with minimal casualties!
"Pass on my order: the entire army will break into smaller units and launch attacks using the same small-unit tactics we used previously. Remember, I'm referring to the entire army this time. Annihilate the Japanese army completely."
When Li Shaoyi stood up from his seat, the dejection on his face had vanished. The operations staff in the room were also greatly encouraged. Our commander-in-chief has finally come back to life. Thinking about it, this is no easy feat. We came here to help, but now we have become the main force.
On the other hand, the Nationalist government withdrew its best troops and also planned to withdraw some elite troops from various miscellaneous armies. Li Shaoyi could not stop them at all. Although he was the commander of the Pujiang War Zone, all the troops were under dual command, listening to both his own orders and those of their former superiors.
When there's fighting, they're under their own command; when there's no fighting, they're under the command of their former superiors. So, under these circumstances, it's very difficult for Li Shaoyi to give them orders. Fortunately, these people have also benefited greatly from Li Shaoyi, so naturally, they have to give him face. Li Shaoyi asked them to hold the battlefield for fifteen days, which they were able to do.
The Nanjing authorities and local warlords did not want to break ties with Li Shaoyi, since he was currently a powerful figure in the country. If they broke ties, no one would be able to live a good life, and the Japanese would be the happiest. It was only fifteen days, so they could still get through it.
In fact, Li Shaoyi understood very well that when these dozen or so infantry divisions retreated, the battle at Pujiang would probably be impossible to continue. Although the main fighting force was the 72nd Army, without these dozen or so infantry divisions as a foundation, the 72nd Army would not be able to move in and out at will, let alone confidently hand over its rear defense line.
Now they had to worry about both the rear defense and how to annihilate the enemy. This was quite difficult for the brothers of the 72nd Army, so Li Shaoyi had to revise the tactics and take advantage of the Japanese before they could react, using the next ten days or so to launch a preemptive attack. After all, their resources were still on their homeland, and their enemies were still the same old ones.
Our days on the battlefield were difficult, but theirs were even more difficult. When we launched an attack, it was they who suffered the most.
The once-quiet battlefield of Pujiang was once again filled with the sound of artillery fire, even more intense than before. Li Shaoyi had already issued orders to all artillery units: "Use up all your reserves. We can't possibly transport these shells back anyway; it would only waste our transport capacity and they wouldn't be of much use afterward. The shells on the battlefield are for the Japanese. As long as you know which direction the Japanese are in, just fire as hard as you can."
Upon hearing the news, the artillerymen immediately got to work with great enthusiasm. Except for the barrels overheating, they fired almost continuously. From their vantage points, the Japanese positions were constantly being bombarded with explosions. Some of the Japanese soldiers had shelters, which was better, but those without shelters had to find a place to hide and wait for the judge to arrive.
In a single day, 189,000 large-caliber shells were fired. The Japanese positions consumed so many shells and many people were killed that day. The field hospitals, which should have been busy, were also destroyed.
During the day, an artilleryman reported that they had indeed spotted a target, but it was a Japanese field hospital, and according to relevant regulations and agreements, we were not allowed to attack their hospital.
However, Li Shaoyi immediately threw them several newspapers. The newspapers clearly stated that on the battlefield near Ma Lei Zi, the Japanese had specifically sent people to search for our hospital. If we hadn't moved quickly enough, the losses might have been even greater.
Even so, more than 30 wounded soldiers and more than a dozen medical workers perished. Upon seeing this, the artillery commander slapped himself hard.
How could you possibly think of discussing international agreements with these animals?
Do these animals even know anything about international agreements? In this situation, just give them a good beating. As for who gets killed, as long as they're not Chinese, it's a victory for us. Whatever happens, our commander will take care of it…