The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 457 Battle Plan
Teng Yuzao did not give the generals a chance to speak, but continued.

"The Chief of Staff and the General Staff and I worked together to develop a battle plan."

Teng Yuzao was not going to keep everyone in suspense, so he spoke directly.

"You should have all heard of the story of Tian Ji's horse race. Specifically, our plan is to use a small number of troops in the mountains from Linqi to Lingchuan and from Dongyao to Lingchuan, using the pre-built fortifications we have built in recent months to block the enemy invading from Tangyin step by step."

"We must resolutely stop the coalition forces on this route before they enter the plain area of ​​Luzhou Prefecture, and use the rugged and complex terrain of the mountains to block them, so as to create the necessary conditions for our main force to annihilate or severely damage the remaining two routes of foreign devils."

"Second, we will use a small number of troops to stop the Russians from harassing Yongnian and the Japanese from Cizhou. We must use continuous harassment and attacks to not only slow down their attack speed, but also eliminate small groups of foreign devils along the way. By accumulating small numbers, we can achieve the goal of continuously weakening their strength."

"In short, we must use endless harassment and attacks to not only weaken their strength, but also make these two foreign devils sleepless and tired and wear them down."

"And our main force hid aside and waited for the enemy to tire themselves out. When the foreign devils were extremely exhausted, we concentrated our forces to quickly destroy or defeat the old Russians attacking from Yongnian."

"It would be best if we can wipe out more than 100,000 Russians in a short period of time. Even if we can't wipe them out but just defeat them, that's also fine. But we can't let them escape from the mountainous area. Instead, we have to force the fleeing Russians to rush to the Japanese attacking from Cizhou."

"When the old Russians, who have suffered heavy losses, and the Japanese, who are also very tired, meet together, we will concentrate as much force as we can to deal a final blow to the foreign devils and wipe them out in one fell swoop."

"It should be noted that if we first defeat the enemy instead of annihilating them, there is one advantage, that is, the Japanese soldiers who attacked from Cizhou would not dare to retreat to Cizhou immediately in order to support the remnants of the Russians. If the Russians were annihilated by us in one fell swoop, the Japanese soldiers would be very likely to escape."

"Good! The commander is wise!"

Hu Dianjia had been in a bad mood since the defeat at Dongxianpo, but he was the first to stand up at this moment.

"Marshal, this plan is absolutely feasible, but I think the most critical thing in this battle is how to stop the two hundred thousand foreign devils coming from Tangyin."

"To stop them, we need too few troops. Too many troops will affect our ability to attack the other two groups of foreign devils. I ask the commander to give this task to our Di Sanzhen and give the Third Town a chance to avenge its previous humiliation!"

Although Teng Yuzao understood Hu Dianjia's feelings at the moment, he still shook his head firmly.

"Choose Qing."

Teng Yuzao said apologetically, "I understand your feelings very well. I even agree with the saying that the army of despair will win."

Teng Yuzao sighed slightly, "But I still hope you understand that the First Town has been deployed in the areas of Hejian, Linqi, and Lingchuan. Not only are they more familiar with the terrain, but they also presided over the construction of the relevant positions. They have the geographical advantage to block the enemy from Tangyin, and they are more suitable for completing this task."

Although Hu Dianjia was still somewhat unwilling, he also agreed with Teng Yuzhao's words in his heart, so he had to sit back in his seat silently.

Teng Yuzao put away his smile and said, "Now, I announce the combat order."

As Teng Yuzao spoke, except for the two civil servants Zhou Fu and Shen Jiaben who were still sitting in their seats, all the other generals stood up and waited for Teng Yuzao's orders.

"Order the First Regiment and the Independent Column to immediately establish blocking positions in the mountains from Dongyao, Linqi to Lingchuan. Liu Yuzhi, commander of the First Regiment, will serve as the commander-in-chief of the southern front. The six field artillery battalions of the Artillery Regiment will be left to you."

After Liu Yuzhi, Cao Futian and Liu Bingyi accepted the order loudly, Teng Yuzhao looked at Liu Yuzhi and gave instructions.

"Yuxuan, whether we can drive the foreign devils out of Zhili in a short time depends on whether we can win this battle, and whether we win this battle depends entirely on whether you can stop these foreign devils within the specified time."

"It is not easy to stop this group of foreign devils. Even if you include the Imperial Guard, you have less than 60,000 troops. It is extremely difficult to stop more than 200,000 British, French and German troops. Can you complete the task?" "Please rest assured, Marshal. As long as I am still alive, I will never let the foreign devils cross the Lingchuan line."

Teng Yuzao shook his head and said, "Yuxuan, if you say that, I can't let it go."

"Even if you die in battle, it will be useless, because as long as the foreign devils rush through Lingchuan, this battle we have carefully prepared will be doomed to fail."

"I don't want you to die. I just want you to hold off these 200,000 foreign devils for ten days. Once the ten days are up, even if the foreign devils break through your defense line, I still won't blame you. I will still give you credit, and you will be the first to receive credit."

Teng Yuzao then warned, "Also remember, don't defend your position to the death. Remember the reverse slope tactics I taught you. The foreign devils' artillery fire will be very fierce, and if you defend your position to the death, you will suffer heavy casualties. Even if all 60,000 of you die in battle, you may not be able to stop the foreign devils."

During the training camp these days, Teng Yuzao specifically explained to the commanders of each unit the application of reverse slope tactics in order to reduce the casualties of the coalition artillery.

A reverse slope refers to a hillside that faces our side and is away from the enemy during a mountain offensive and defensive battle.

The construction of the reverse slope position is to avoid the enemy's heavy firepower output. This is a blind spot for the enemy's artillery fire. Direct-fire artillery fire is even more of a decoration for the reverse slope, and there are also many blind spots for indirect-fire artillery shells hitting the reverse slope.

By building excavated firing positions, garrison holes, and covered trenches under the large rocks on the reverse slope, personnel are basically not exposed to the open air, and the damage caused by enemy aircraft and artillery fire will be greatly reduced.

The key to holding the position is to firmly grasp the control of the top of the mountain.

After explaining things to Liu Yuzhi, Teng Yuzhao continued to issue orders.

Teng Yuzao's order was that Li Jinyu's Eighth Regiment should immediately advance to the east of Shexian County. Once the Russian troops in Yongnian entered the mountainous area, they should immediately use all means to harass and delay them, and maintain 24-hour uninterrupted attacks on the enemy. At the same time, they should resolutely avoid frontal positional warfare with the Russian army.

The Eighth Brigade did not need to stop the Russian attack, but to continuously weaken their strength through piecemeal attacks, while trying to prevent the enemy from getting effective rest time as much as possible.

Pan Jinshan's Sixth Regiment marched forward to Hezhang. His mission was exactly the same as Li Jinyu's, except that the opponent was the Japanese army.

Teng Yuzhao personally led Li Xiance's Second Regiment, Hu Dianjia's Third Regiment, Liu Shijiu's Fourth Regiment, Wu Peifu's Fifth Regiment and half of Liu Changfa's artillery town, and took shelter in the mountainous area east of Shexian County.

Wei Jinghai led the headquarters, the troops directly under the headquarters, and Liu Bingyi's Guard Association, which served as the army's general reserve, to continue staying in Luzhou City, coordinating the liaison and command of various departments, and assisting Li Yulin in speeding up the transfer of supplies to Qinyuan.

Although Teng Yuzao has a complete plan to win, he still needs to prepare for the worst. The materials that need to be transferred still need to be transferred to prevent the worst-case scenario.

Yang Shixiang and Xu Shichang should work together with officials of Luzhou Prefecture to mobilize the people along the routes from Shexian to Licheng, from Hezhang to Huangniuti, and from Dongyao Linqi to Hejian as soon as possible, so that they could fortify their defenses and hide in the mountains when the coalition forces launched an attack.

Teng Yuzao finally looked at Xue Qian and Su Xilin, "Youan, Xiangfu."

Unexpectedly, Teng Yuzao still thought of the Cavalry Association in the end, which surprised and delighted Xue Qian and Su Xilin. They hurriedly stood up and waited for Teng Yuzao's order.

"Your mission is to split the cavalry brigade into two. You'an will lead his troops to operate along the line from Baoding to Yongnian, while Xiangfu will lead his troops to operate in the area from Tianjin to Xianghe, specifically to attack the foreign devils' baggage transport units."

"Don't let the foreign devils transport weapons and ammunition safely. If they succeed in their attack, burn or blow them up on the spot."

(End of this chapter)