LRAB Chapter 64 No matter how you look at it, the troop strength in the great battle is 60 against 20, an
Chapter 64 No matter how you look at it, the troop strength in the great battle is 60 against 20, an
I want to plant the Rising Sun Flag of the Empire on the city wall of Xuzhou while that guy from Banyuan is still eating dirt outside Linyi!
Let the adults in Tokyo see who is the best young man from Choshu!
Who is worthy to command the entire Imperial Japanese Army?
Tsutsumi Keigo and several staff officers were pale-faced, and still wanted to persuade him further: "Division Commander! You must think twice. This is no longer the time when you, Commander, faced off against Zhang Liuzi in Showa 6..."
"Execute orders!" Jigu Lianjie interrupted rudely, his eyes icy cold. "Anyone who undermines morale will face the ruthlessness of military law!"
The vanguard, the Chungsan-ki Detachment, was ordered to reinforce its tanks, heavy artillery, and engineers, and to advance with full force without waiting for friendly forces on the left and right flanks! It was to break through the Chinese army's northern defenses at the fastest speed and head straight for Tairzhuang!
Taierzhuang is the gateway to Xuzhou and the throat of the Grand Canal. If we seize this place, Xuzhou will be mine for the taking!
Jigu Lianjie's autocratic rule ultimately overwhelmed all rational voices.
What Jigu Lianjie didn't know was that his opponent... Banzou Zhengshiro, thought the same thing!!!
Driven by his will, the massive war machine, the 10th Division, began to charge forward along the Jinpu Railway line with an almost frenzied momentum.
Major General Chung-shan's detachment, like a wild horse, broke free of the support from the flanks and crashed headlong into the Nationalist army's northern defensive positions.
Meanwhile, Jigu Lianjie was also unaware of this. At the same time as Jigu Lianjie's operation, another powerful intelligence organization in the Republic of China, the "CC Clique," had already used its connections among high-ranking Japanese officials and the support of a large amount of gold and yen to have its top CC agent, "Mangshan Chromium Iron Head," who had infiltrated Jigu's division as an ordinary translator, immediately report this important intelligence to CC headquarters!
Upon receiving the intelligence, Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu, prominent figures in the CC Clique, were so excited they almost jumped up!
"The 10th Division's 'Jigu' company is greedy for merit and reckless, completely deviating from the rhythm of other units in the Central China Expeditionary Army, and is rushing ahead on its own to grab credit! Once we seize the opportunity to annihilate the Jigu Division, then our CC Clique will finally be able to hold its head high!"
The Chen brothers looked at the report and a long-lost smile appeared on their faces.
"Good! Immediately compile a detailed report highlighting the CC Clique's timely and accurate real-time intelligence on precise tactics! We must submit it to the Chairman immediately!" Chen Guofu decisively ordered.
"Not only that," Chen Lifu said with a sinister smile, "we also need to spread the word within the Party and the military that the so-called ace intelligence agent Crow, on whom the Military Intelligence Bureau relied, has died a martyr, and that important military intelligence from now on will still have to come from our 'CC' faction..."
Wherever there are people, there is conflict; infighting is everywhere!
The contradictions between the Japanese army and the Nationalist army, the contradictions between the Japanese navy and army, the contradictions between the Nagasu clique and other cliques in the Japanese army, and the contradictions within the Nagasu clique itself...
The contradictions between the National Revolutionary Army's Central Army, Guangxi Clique, Baoding Clique, Tumu Clique, Northwest Clique... and even the Military Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, CC Clique, and Executive Yuan were all revealed throughout the war!
A storm is brewing!
Huangshan Official Residence, Yunxiu Tower.
The principal looked at the still-wet copy of the telegram personally delivered by Dai Chunfeng, as well as the crucial intelligence reported by the "CC" faction regarding the Jigu Division's underestimation of the enemy and reckless advance. After listening to the brief supplementary reports from Lin Wei, the head of the adjutant's office, and He Yingqin, the Minister of Military Affairs, he said with a grim face:
"Damn it! They've got quite the appetite this time, assembling seven divisions, 200,000 troops, aiming to capture Xuzhou and Linyi in one fell swoop and control the central hub of the Jinpu Railway and the Longhan Railway."
Connect the North China and Central China fronts into one contiguous area, and completely swallow up the five provinces and two municipalities of North China and the six provinces and one municipality of East China.
Aren't they afraid of them stuffing themselves to death?
"Hmph! They just don't know that we've already amassed 60 elite troops from 55 divisions in Xuzhou, waiting for them!"
He suddenly looked up, his gaze sharp: "Weiran, immediately send these three intelligence reports to Li Degong and Bai Jiansheng of the Fifth War Zone Command in the name of the Military Commission!"
Tell them that this battle is of great importance, and that I will personally fly to the front lines in Xuzhou tomorrow to inspect the situation and boost morale!
Upon hearing this, both He Yingqin and Lin Wei were slightly taken aback.
The Chairman's personal presence at the front lines was extremely risky, but it also demonstrated the importance he attached to this battle.
On March 17, 1938, war clouds gathered over Xuzhou City and its surroundings, and a large army was assembled.
This ancient city, located at the intersection of the Jinpu and Longhai railway trunk lines, has become the focus of attention for both China and Japan. A momentous battle that will determine the course of the war and even the fate of the nation has begun.
The headquarters of the Fifth War Zone Command was heavily guarded, with numerous sentry posts, creating a suffocating atmosphere of tension.
Inside the conference room, stars shone brightly amidst swirling smoke.
At the head of the long conference table sat the principal, dressed in the uniform of a first-class army general, with an extremely solemn expression.
His gaze swept over every senior general present like that of a hawk, exuding an imposing aura without anger.
On both sides, Li Zongren, commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone, Bai Chongxi, deputy commander-in-chief and chief of staff, as well as Tang Enbo, Sun Zhen, Guan Linzheng, Pang Bingxun, Zhang Zizhong, Yu Xuezhong, Liao Lei, Zi Zuhuang, Liu Yishi and other commanders-in-chief of various army groups and corps commanders sat upright, not daring to breathe (I am extremely distressed by the transliteration of their names).
Commander-in-Chief Li Zongren of the Fifth War Zone was the first to stand up. "Colleagues, we of the Fifth War Zone would like to express our gratitude to the Commander-in-Chief for personally coming to Xuzhou to oversee the battle at this critical juncture, disregarding his own safety. This is a great encouragement to all the officers and soldiers of our Fifth War Zone, and the greatest impetus to our Fifth War Zone!"
All the generals stood up and applauded enthusiastically...
"Now, please welcome the principal to give a pre-battle mobilization speech for our Fifth War Zone!"
With a smile, the principal stood up, gestured for the officers to sit down, and only after everyone stopped clapping and sat down did he speak in a thick Ningbo accent:
"Xuzhou region!"
More than 50 large-scale wars were fought throughout history.
It is a strategic location that military strategists must contend for.
right and wrong twists and turns,
It's hard to explain!
No matter how you look at it, this great battle brought together almost all of the Republic of China's elite forces, 55 in total, totaling 60 troops!
The troops withdrawn by the Japanese North China Area Army and Central China Expeditionary Army
However, there are only 7 divisions and 20 troops!
The troop strength in the battle was 60 against 20.
The advantage is in my hands!
The generals rose again and applauded enthusiastically...
The principal waved his hand again, signaling the generals to sit down again, before saying, "Gentlemen..."
A formidable enemy is at hand, and the nation is in peril!
I won't go into the mobilization part. I'm here mainly to boost your morale and also to hear your overall battle plan. What do you think?
Jiansheng, begin your "little" Zhuge Liang's "grand" strategies!
Upon hearing this, Bai Chongxin, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the National Revolutionary Army, concurrently Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Staff of the Fifth War Zone, took the lead and walked to the huge sand table of the Xuzhou War Zone, picked up the command baton,
His voice was steady, yet carried a barely perceptible hint of fatigue (the fatigue of having to completely revise the entire battle plan overnight upon hearing that the principal was personally overseeing the operation), and he said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you for coming to encourage me, Principal! (What are you doing here causing all this trouble?)"
As Sun Tzu's Art of War states: "The art of war is to fight..."
First, make sure they are invincible!
In order to wait for the enemy to be defeated.
The invincibility lies in oneself, the victory lies in the enemy!
Following this line of thought, the guiding principle for this campaign in our Fifth Theater Command is:
Focus on defense, proceed step by step,
Wait for the enemy to make a mistake, lure the enemy deep into your territory,
Concentrate our elite forces and encircle and annihilate them!
Not focusing on the gains or losses of a single city or region.
The overall guiding principle is to use flexible and mobile tactics to trade space for time and depth for combat opportunities!
The goal was to annihilate the Japanese 10th Division, which was overconfident and reckless, as provided by the two senior members of the CC Clique, and to severely damage the Japanese 5th Division, one of the two elite Japanese divisions.
The overall strategic objective was to deter the enemy's remaining five divisions and keep them out of the Huaihai region!
In accordance with this "guiding ideology" and "strategic objective", the latest operational deployment of my Fifth Theater Command has been adjusted as follows. Please provide your instructions and guidance, Principal!