Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 109 The advantage is mine
2 month 3 day.

night.

Everyone in the command post has his or her own duties.

Zhao Fangyuan took over the troop dispatch, and Sergei handled various intelligence.

Wang Feng stood in front of the observation hole, seemingly observing the battlefield through a telescope, but in fact his consciousness had already drifted to the system panel.

half an hour ago.

Taking advantage of dusk and nightfall, the 13th Division launched an attack across the river.

However, faced with the long defense line jointly built by the battle group and the 31st Army, the strength of a brigade was obviously not enough.

Flares shone over the Huai River, making it as bright as day on both sides.

Zhao Fangyuan walked over quickly and said, "Sir, the Japanese offensive is weak tonight, why don't you take a rest first."

Wang Feng shook his head: "We can't slack off. We don't have much time left. We have to think of a way to hurt the Japanese army as soon as possible."

Zhao Fangyuan scratched his head, not understanding the meaning of the words: "Time is running out, sir, what do you mean?"

Wang Feng put down the telescope and said, "The Jinpu South Line is indeed taking a long time. If it continues like this, I'm afraid there will be big problems on the North Line."

Li Zongren had less than seven armies, three armies plus the North China Battle Group stationed on the Bengbu-Huaihe line.

The weakness of the North is inevitable.

After the three-dimensional combat map was upgraded, its range radius reached 30 kilometers, which just included the Japanese command post.

The fighting on the front line was not intense just now, so he conducted a "detailed inspection" of the Japanese command post.

I happened to catch a military meeting.

Although I couldn't hear the sound clearly and couldn't understand Japanese.

But Wang Feng saw many times that several Japanese officers above the rank of major general pointed at the Jinpu North Line on the map.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation!
An ominous premonition came to Wang Feng's heart.

Compared to the southern front, which had a division and a brigade, the northern front had two fully staffed standing Type A divisions.
Due to Han Fuju's unauthorized escape.

At present, most of Shandong has fallen, but the Isogai Division and the Sendai Division have basically not suffered much casualties, and their combat effectiveness remains at its peak at all times.

Zhao Fangyuan was a little worried: "Sir, when I came here, I checked the terrain. Shangyao and Luqiao are all flat, without any ups and downs. It may not be easy to win by surprise attack!"

Wang Feng kept calm and remained silent, switching his consciousness to a bird's-eye view, looking for possible flaws in the Japanese army.

But it's a pity.

The opposing commander adopted the style of World War I, using deep trenches and steady advances. The battle line bordered the 18th Division, hoping to find loopholes.

difficult!
Zhao Fangyuan thought to himself: "Why not discuss it with the 59th Army? If the four armies fight at the same time, there will always be a chance."

Wang Feng responded, "Based on the current situation, this is the only way.

The north bank of Bengbu.

Zhang Zizhong was wearing a neat military uniform, holding a telescope, his cheeks red from the cold, and was leading a group of officers on a night patrol of the position.

The 51st Army has suffered more than half losses and has retreated to the second line. Currently, the entire Huaihe River defense line is being defended by the 59th Army.

The 59th Army attached great importance to this battle.

To be honest, it is very difficult for an army to fight against a division, as difficult as climbing to the sky.

This was not the first time that the 59th Army fought on the Jinpu Line, so it had rich experience, having fought against Japanese brigades, regiments, and battalions.

But never won once.

Deputy Army Commander Li Wentian stood beside him and said, "Sir, it's cold at night, and our brothers are watching us on the front line. Let's go back and rest first!"

Zhang Zizhong raised his head and looked at the bright starry sky. He looked around and saw that there was no one around him. "To be honest, after being transferred to the Nanjing Military and Political Department, I once thought that I would never have the chance to return to the battlefield in this lifetime."

"I didn't expect that Officer Li would be so kind-hearted as to personally recommend me to the chairman."

Zhang Zizhong said this with a wry smile.

Although he regained control of the military, in name he was still the Nanjing Military and Political Department's subordinate, and the so-called army commander was only an acting authority.

You only get one chance.

If we fail to win this battle, it will be difficult to return to the army with legitimate reasons in the future.

Li Wentian stopped, stood at attention and saluted, his expression solemn: "Please rest assured, sir!"

"I have already told my brothers that this battle is a matter of honor for the commander, and we will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Zhang Zizhong smiled, patted Li Wentian on the shoulder, and continued walking forward.

The 59th Army was a unit he personally trained.

More than ten years ago, Zhang Zizhong served as the head of the Student Corps in the Northwest Army. The nature of this unit was similar to that of the Teaching Corps.

Any soldier picked out from there can be placed in an ordinary army and serve as a grassroots officer.

Afterwards, he served as the commander of the 38th Division.

When the army was reorganized a few years ago, the 59th Army was expanded based on the original 38th Division, and most of the upper, middle and lower-level officers came from the Cadet Corps.

After so many years of working together, to put it bluntly, this unit has almost become his "private army".

Li Tianwen followed him, recalling the scene when Zhang Zizhong was away.

The entire 59th Army was in chaos.

To put it more seriously, it would not be an exaggeration to call them "rebels".

During that period, he served as acting army commander and was unable to command the division commanders under him, nor did he want to do so.

I was just pushed into this position, and some things have to be done.

When the battle order came down, the soldiers became desperate and stayed in the barracks in groups, refusing to leave.

They even conspired privately, thinking that since they were all orphans, they might as well just go up the mountain and become bandits.

Feng Yuxiang and Song Zheyuan were present in person, but they were unable to command the troops.

This matter even reached the ears of the Chairman, who immediately began to plan a new commander for the 59th Army.

The position of army commander is not a common position. Even if you select a new person, you have to consider whether he has sufficient ability.

Chiang Kai-shek selected round after round of candidates, but there were only a few suitable candidates, and they all passed the buck to each other, and no one was willing to take the office.

If one or two division commanders disobey the transfer order, they can be directly detained and dealt with by military law.

But who could tolerate an army of more than 30,000 people collectively disobeying orders?

In the end, the situation remained deadlocked until Zhang Zizhong returned to the army.

A signalman came running over: "Sir, a telegram from friendly forces!"

Zhang Zizhong turned his head and asked: "Which unit is it?"

Signalman: "Friendly forces on the west side!"

Is it Wang Feng’s troops?

Zhang Zizhong looked at the time. It was eleven o'clock in the evening.

At this time, there must be urgent military information.
"Let me see!" Zhang Zizhong took it and looked it up and down.

My tense heart couldn't help but relax.

"It's the middle of the night, and it's really scary."

Li Wentian approached: "Sir, what happened?"

Zhang Zizhong: "Friendly troops have sent a message, hoping that the commanders of several armies can work together to plan for the war of resistance!"

Li Wentian frowned: "This North China Battle Group, is it a unit of the Shanxi Army?"

That edition of Shenbao had been circulated in various military units. Now, everyone in the entire military knew the great reputation of Wang Feng and the North China Battle Group.

Zhang Zizhong pondered in his heart, and after a second or two he replied: "Not really, but the commander of this unit is quite formidable. I met him once before at the Guide Conference."

Li Wentian was a little worried: "Sir, the command on the front line is chaotic. It may be difficult for the four armies to work together!" "The 31st Army is the Gui Army, which is affiliated to the 51th Army Group. The st Army is affiliated to the rd Army Group. Our unit and the North China Battle Group are directly under the theater of war."

After this reminder, Zhang Zizhong also considered this issue.

Coordinated operations are easy to say, but difficult at the same time. It is indeed not simple.

Unless Commander Li personally commands the battle.

"Call back, my department agrees to your request, and we will discuss great matters together on a certain day!" Although he felt that it was a bit unreliable, Zhang Zizhong still expressed his support.

That day in Guide, the sight of Wang Feng pointing at the map and talking eloquently left a deep impression on him.

2 month 4 day,
Ten o'clock in the morning.

After a night of rest, the Japanese army launched a new round of fierce attacks.

As the 13th Division was deployed to the battlefield, the Japanese Air Force appropriately poured some firepower into the Shangyao front.

The carefully planned flexible defense finally took effect.

The most obvious thing is that after the Japanese bombing, the frontline positions were able to launch a counterattack against the enemy crossing the river within three minutes.

In the past, this time would have to be at least ten minutes.

At the same time, casualties were greatly reduced.

Faced with the tenacious counterattack from the frontline positions, the 13th Division complained bitterly.

After attacking for two hours, they still didn't even reach the middle of the river.

Inside the command post.

Zhao Fangyuan stood in front of the observation hole, keeping an eye on the situation on the battlefield.

When the Japanese army discovered unusual movements, they were puzzled: "Sir, where did all these devils go?"

"The offensive suddenly weakened a lot. Could it be an attempt to outflank our army?"

Wang Feng shook his head, wanting to smile, but felt it was inappropriate: "From what I see, that's not the case."

Zhao Fangyuan was suspicious.

Wang Feng continued to explain: "The Huai River is wide, and it would be very difficult for the Japanese army to fight in a roundabout way."

"Besides, our position is not far from the 59th Army. The 51st Army is stationed in the rear. Although more than half of its troops have been lost, their morale is not broken and they still have the strength to fight."

"From my observation of the enemy commander's combat style, he has repeatedly sought to play it safe and will not take this risk."

Zhao Fangyuan nodded slightly, feeling that this was indeed reasonable.

"In your opinion, why did the Japanese army slow down its attack?"

Wang Feng: "I guess. They should have turned to attack the 31st Army."

Although the 31st Army fought very tenaciously, it was far inferior to the battle group in terms of equipment and quality of soldiers.

Pick the softest persimmons to squeeze.
Zhao Fangyuan scratched his head and said, "Sir, should we send troops over to reinforce them?"

Wang Feng thought about it and said: "Send a telegram to Zhang Hu, pretend to cross the river and make a detour to attract some Japanese firepower!"

After saying that, he immediately switched perspective.

The situation of the 31st Army was indeed urgent, and the Japanese army launched attacks in batches in battalions.

Army commander Liu Shiyi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan in the command post.

Planes were circling overhead.

The Gui army had a relatively rich reserve of weapons. The 31st Army was equipped with some anti-aircraft machine guns imported from foreign countries, but their effectiveness was mediocre.

It can only defend against low altitude attacks, and its range is only around one kilometer.

It is a pity that it is tasteless.

Wang Feng thought of something: "Have all the telegrams sent to the various ministries received any replies yesterday?"

Zhao Fangyuan: "The other three departments all agreed, but we sent a telegram to the war zone commander's office, but there is no response yet."

Wang Feng nodded.

The tense war on the northern front attracted most of the attention, while the situation on the southern front was relatively stalemate, so it was understandable that the reported news was shelved.

Zhao Fangyuan frowned and said, "Sir, given the current situation, what should we do to repel the Japanese army in one fell swoop?"

Wang Feng spread out the map. He had been thinking about the battle plan all night yesterday.

If we talk about the large-scale battles that took place in the Xuzhou area throughout the dynasties.

No matter what, the Huaihai Campaign cannot be missed.

Recalling the famous movie quote from my previous life - "800,000 versus 600,000, the advantage is mine!"

It seemed ridiculous at the time, but now that he was in the situation himself, Wang Feng felt that he could relate to the situation.

"The total strength of the Japanese army is currently around 25,000, with hundreds of fighter planes of various types, 30 tanks, and more than 70 artillery pieces."

"The combat effectiveness is undoubtedly strong. Even if the 26th Division opposite us only has one brigade left, its comprehensive combat effectiveness is more than twice that of the th Brigade!"

Zhao Fangyuan and Sergei nodded.

Everyone has long been aware of the Japanese army's combat effectiveness.

A division is an integrated combat unit, but a brigade is not.

According to the current Japanese military organization, under a division, in addition to two brigades serving as combat units, there are also a considerable number of logistics units.

According to Wang Feng's observations over the past few days, the 13th Division has four field hospitals alone.

In addition, there are two communication units, an epidemic prevention and water supply unit, a field artillery regiment, a cavalry reconnaissance battalion, an engineering unit, and so on.

The independent combat capability is quite strong.

This was the first time that Wang Feng encountered an organized division.

"On the other hand, looking at our own military strength, including the reserve forces, we have just over 31 troops. The 51st Army has about 59 troops, the st Army has about troops, and the th Army has just arrived. The entire army has about troops!"

"How much does it add up to?"

"A full 70,000 people!"

"Seventy thousand versus twenty-five thousand, the advantage is on my side!" Wang Feng leaned his hands on the table, his eyes fixed on the Huai River on the map.

Fortunately, the other three armies were all elite troops from various local areas, and there were no vacancies or empty pay.

Zhao Fangyuan folded his arms across his chest and said, "Sir, this means..."

Wang Feng pointed to the north bank of the Huai River with a determined look in his eyes: "Lure the enemy deep into our territory, then surround and annihilate them!"

"North of the Huai River, there are many rivers crisscrossing each other. We can defend along the terrain, split the Japanese army, form a large encirclement, and completely eat up this Japanese army!"

Zhao Fangyuan was a little shocked.

He originally thought that the goal of the combat plan was at most to severely damage the Japanese army and reduce the threat on the southern line of the Huai River.

I never thought that the commander wanted to directly encircle and annihilate the Japanese army.

One division and one brigade.

Sergei didn't think it was a big deal. A war of this scale would not be considered a big battle in the European battlefield.

"We have a total of 70,000 people, which is almost three times the number of Japanese troops. We have met the conditions for an encirclement and annihilation war."

"Overall, we were the dominant side."

Zhao Fangyuan raised a question: "Sir, the Japanese aerial reconnaissance aircraft can directly and comprehensively overlook the entire battlefield. I am afraid that the encirclement has not yet been formed and the plan will be leaked."

Wang Feng raised his head and said, "Fighting on the plains is the most challenging test of the troops' mobility."

"I have considered the situation you mentioned. The pocket of this encirclement can only be drawn at night."

"It takes one night, ten hours, to build a pocket at least fifteen kilometers wide!"

(End of this chapter)