Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 121: When desperate, use tactics and make precise strikes!

18th Division Command Post.

Signalmen shuttled back and forth, and the sound of telegraphs ticking could be heard constantly.

Looking at the battle reports constantly coming in from the front line, Ushijima Sadao's forehead was covered with a dense layer of sweat.

In the blink of an eye, the battle situation seemed to have completely gotten out of control.

A Chinese army appeared out of nowhere and quickly infiltrated into our own army.

The entire 18th Division was surrounded.

Ushijima Sadao yelled like a madman: "Baka!"

"Where is the tank regiment? Where is the tank regiment!"

"Within an hour! I want to see reinforcements!"

Iwata Takahiko was embarrassed: "Sir, I'm afraid the tank regiment is too late."

The Huaihe River system is complex and intricate, and the marching speed of infantry will be significantly slowed down, not to mention tanks.

The tank regiment was short of infantry and engineers, and once they got stuck in the mud, it would be difficult to tow them out.

Ushijima Sadao was still determined to do something evil and continued, "Where's the field artillery regiment? Send them to the front immediately!"

Iwata Takahiko nodded and saluted: "Ha-yi!"

This is indeed possible. Although the mobility of heavy artillery in mud is much lower than that of tanks, it has a long range. If it moves forward a few kilometers, it can provide strong support to the front battlefield.

The field artillery regiment of the Type A division is quite well equipped.

The 18th Division was the main force heading north to Xuzhou, and General Hata Shunroku was not stingy at all.

In addition to the conventional 36 75mm field guns, 12 more large-caliber howitzers were added to the 4 large-caliber howitzers.

Specially used for offensive warfare.

All are equal under heavy artillery. No matter how many Chinese soldiers there are, they have to surrender in the face of overwhelming artillery fire.

At the last moment, Ushijima Sadao was a little worried and reminded: "Deploy the field artillery regiment in a safe area, just in case!"

The enemy infiltrated the rear, completely disrupting the formation and posing a great threat to the logistical support forces.

Iwata Takahiko: "Your Excellency, there is no need to worry."

"This unknown Chinese army is limited in number and has turned its main attack to our infantry regiment. It has no spare energy to take care of the field artillery regiment."

"Besides, there is no reconnaissance aircraft to provide air support. It would take too long to search aimlessly on the plains. Even if we find the target, the field artillery regiment should have completed its combat mission by then."

Ushijima Sadao's frown gradually relaxed: "Well, I hope so!"

In the history of world wars, there has been no precedent so far of relying solely on infantry to penetrate into the rear and conduct a carpet search for enemy artillery units.

Throughout the long history, there have been many smart people. It’s not that no one can think of it, but it is very difficult to implement and the success rate is very low.

Any officer who has received formal training would not use limited manpower on such a meaningless matter.

Sadao Ushijima kept his composure and calmly dealt with the situation on the battlefield.

Iwata Takahiko walked out.

at the same time.

After handling another routine report, Wang Feng immersed his consciousness in the three-dimensional combat map.

There are as many red dots as there are Japanese soldiers in the field of vision. If a person with trypophobia sees this, he will definitely go crazy.

After several upgrades, the functions of the system panel have been gradually improved.

From a macro perspective, it can not only determine the specific position of the enemy, but also mark the soldier cards considerately.

The infantryman's helmet is a steel helmet, the engineer's shovel is a shovel, the field hospital is a tent. The artillery unit's badge is a very conspicuous field howitzer.

It saves the time of checking one by one.

Wang Feng took a quick glance and noticed the Japanese field artillery regiment.

Zoom in and take a closer look.

Under the cover of night, one howitzer after another, pulled by military horses and pushed by manpower, struggled forward in the mud.

In the early stages of the war, the Japanese army had not yet requisitioned Chinese horses on a large scale. The military horses assigned to the troops were all hybrid breeds introduced from Europe across the ocean from the mainland. They could be used for both riding and pulling, and had excellent endurance and traction.

A Japanese officer kept waving his whip: "Baga!"

"Quick! Speed ​​up!"

"We ate so much fodder for nothing. Let's go!"

The road wheels were covered with mud and grass, and the military horses felt the pain in their buttocks and neighed, but even so, the heavy artillery's moving speed was still extremely slow.

Wang Feng took a look, wrote down the specific coordinates, and called Zhao Fangyuan.

"Sir!"

Wang Feng walked to the side and looked for the location on the map according to the coordinates in his memory.

“How many reserves do we have?”

Zhao Fangyuan: "There are probably more than 2,000 people!"

Wang Feng took out a pen and drew a red circle on the map: "You lead 1,500 people to search for the Japanese heavy artillery unit here!"

Attacking the field artillery regiment is a difficult task and someone needs to keep an eye on it.

Zhang Hu and Chu Yunfei were both sent out, and there was no general capable of taking the lead in the command post. After much scrambling, the Chief of General Staff had to take charge himself.

Zhao Fangyuan frowned and looked at the red circle on the map, confused.

This location is a bit remote, about five or six kilometers southeast of the command post.

Wang Feng saw that Zhao Fangyuan didn't respond, so he urged him, "Go quickly! The Japanese will run away soon!"

It’s false that we’re afraid of letting the Japanese escape.

The distance is five or six kilometers, and if we march quickly, we can get there in less than an hour.

But if we follow the speed of the Japanese heavy artillery units, they can only advance half a kilometer in an hour at most.

This slight error was made up in the blink of an eye.

Nothing to worry about at all.

The key is that this wave of operations is really too psychedelic. Using the three-dimensional combat map is like opening a third eye. The combat orders issued based on it seem to be aimless and really confusing.

Anyway, no matter how Chiang Kai-shek micromanaged the battle, even if he personally went to his command post to supervise the battle, he would have a good "reasoning" with him.

Fortunately, Zhao Fangyuan was convinced enough by Wang Feng.

"Yes! I'll give the order right away!"

There must be a reason why the boss did this.

He won't be the commander-in-chief, but he will be the chief of staff. Ask less, do more, learn more and you'll be done!

After Zhao Fangyuan finished speaking, he turned around and walked outside.

Wang Feng stopped him and added: "Tell the brothers below to be gentle and not to damage my cannon!"

Zhao Fangyuan was stunned for a moment, then he immediately reacted and saluted: "Don't worry, sir, the Japanese won't. I will definitely bring your cannon back to you intact. If a little paint is knocked off, you will hold me responsible!"

Wang Feng nodded: "Also, call Zheng Zhenzhong over to me!"

Zhao Fangyuan: “Yes!”

The reason why he asked Zheng Zhenzhong to come to the command post was very simple, it was the four Type 91 howitzers that had been kept back for so long, it was time to pull them out and show them off!
Taking advantage of the gap between the two people, Wang Feng switched the perspective to the bird's-eye view.

The First Red Flag Corps advanced rapidly, and the Japanese army faced the enemy from behind, with the first to bear the brunt of the attack being the logistics support troops.

For example, field hospitals, water supply units, etc.

Although these Japanese soldiers also participated in military training to a certain extent, their combat capabilities were pitifully low.

There were very few defense forces and they were basically negligible in front of the battle-hardened Red Flag First Corps.

This line of defense was quickly penetrated.

In general, a Japanese army division has two or three standing field hospitals. In very rare special circumstances, an additional field hospital would be temporarily added.

Those captured Japanese doctors and wounded soldiers were very tough and would rather die than surrender.

Wang Feng simply obliged them and sent a telegram directly to Zhang Hu, ordering him to be shot on the spot.

He is not afraid of being exposed at all.

For the domestic people, the slogan of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" seems to be more appealing than empty words like "repay evil with kindness".

As for the international community.

Let’s not talk about whether it can get to that point. Even if it spreads, what will happen?
If the condemnation of the international community was really effective, the Japanese would not have been allowed to fight all the way to Xuzhou.

In Wang Feng's opinion, the so-called condemnation is not as powerful as a wild dog peeing on a tire. At least the latter can make people feel sick and corrode the rubber surface.

Looking at the three disarmed field hospitals from a bird's-eye view, he couldn't help feeling a little envious.

Damn those Japs, their logistics are really well-equipped!

The battle group under his command had a total of about 20,000 to 30,000 people, but only one field hospital.

Medical resources are quite tight.

Wang Feng muttered to himself: "It seems that we need to train specialized skilled personnel."

"How about setting up a field emergency department in Changzhi Military Academy?"

As we all know, the training period for a qualified doctor is very long.

Even if medical soldiers don't need to learn everything, under the fastest circumstances, they will still need about a year of training to graduate successfully.

A century of education is no joke.

Thinking of this, Wang Feng couldn't help feeling helpless.

Before the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Nationalist Government headed by Chiang Kai-shek ruled most of China and had taken many measures to develop industry and the economy.

1927-1937, euphemistically known as the "Golden Decade"

The slogan sounds loud, but any discerning person can see the actual effect behind it.

More than half of the meager military and civilian industries were inherited from the Qing Dynasty.

For example, the scale of the Hanyang Arsenal and the Jinling Arsenal was only maintained at the level of the Qing Dynasty.

Not much higher or lower.

Don't think that ten years is a short time.

The weak Soviet Union was able to complete two "Five-Year Plans" within ten years and directly leapt into a world industrial power.

Even if the Republic of China had a poor foundation, it would be good if the results were one-tenth of those of the Soviet Union.

Unfortunately, it didn't.
All I can say is that it’s pretty good not to have to drive in reverse.

Wang Feng was not willing to delve into the specific reasons, but the output of the arsenal in Changzhi area was increasing day by day.

New industrial focuses will be unlocked soon!
My thoughts returned to the battlefield.

The most precious resources of the Japanese field hospital are various emergency medicines.

Lang Shaohua had complained to him about the shortage of medicines more than once, but there was nothing he could do.

This thing cannot be produced independently in China. If you want to use it, you can only import it from Europe, the United States and other countries.

After being resold by the comprador class, the price increased several times.

In ordinary national army units, even company-level officers may not have access to high-end Western medicine.

From a bird's-eye view.

After breaking through the first line of defense, the 1st Red Flag Corps continued to penetrate deep into the Japanese territory.

What happened before was just an appetizer to warm up the atmosphere. It was only at this point that we officially started fighting against the Japanese army.

The Japanese logistics and supply troops used the supply station as a stronghold, stacked sandbags to build temporary positions, and put up a stubborn resistance.

It takes some time to process, but it's not tricky.

At this time, Zheng Zhenzhong walked in.

"Sir!"

Wang Feng returned to the real world: "I'll give you some coordinates, and carry out a precise strike immediately!"

"Each coordinate only needs one round of bombardment. We don't have many shells left. Use them sparingly!"

Upon hearing that it was a combat mission, Zheng Zhenzhong immediately perked up, put his heels together, and saluted: "My troops are ready to fight at any time!"

Wang Feng nodded and took out a piece of rough paper with several coordinates written on it in advance.

Without exception, they were all the devil's command posts.

From small squadrons to large regiments, Wang Feng wrote down everything that could be observed.

As for the headquarters of the 18th Division, time was running out and he had not yet found it.

But that's enough.

Once the order is executed, it would be equivalent to cutting off the limbs of the 18th Division, leaving only its head, like a human pig. It would be useless except for staring blankly and anxiously.

No matter how many combat orders were issued, they were useless. Ordinary soldiers could not receive any information and, without contact with their superiors, they could only fight on their own.

Zheng Zhenzhong received the order and left the command post immediately.

(End of this chapter)