Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 214 A Fatal Strategic Mistake
What can you do in an hour on the battlefield? For a surprise attack, an hour is enough to resolve a battle involving tens of thousands of people.

By the time the bombers received the request and arrived at the battlefield, the battle was already over.

Therefore, destroying Xuzhou's airport is also a crucial strategy.

However, just as Wang Gensheng was thinking about how to launch a surprise attack on Xuzhou Airport, the 74th Army of Qiu Qingquan's Corps, which was sent by Du Yuming, happened to clash with the column sent by the Third Field Army in Pantang Town.

Du Yuming was completely bewildered, and then, looking at the sand table in the operations room, he murmured:
"Wasn't the main force of the Third Field Army supposed to be at Nianzhuang? How did they end up in Pantang Town and run right into the 74th Army? What exactly is the Third Field Army's objective?!"

However, as he asked in confusion, Liu Zhi, who was standing to the side, said:

"Our goal is Xu Zhou!"

After saying that, he immediately ordered the air force base, namely Xuzhou Airport, to arrange for bombing.

Because of the close proximity, the B-24 bombers took off with low fuel and full bombs for the bombing.

Three and a half tons of ammunition, consisting of dozens of high-yield aerial bombs, would cause far more damage than any howitzer.

It's worth noting that in the TV series "Bright Sword," the commander of the Third Field Army only returned five tons of artillery shells to Li Yunlong!

This bomber carried three and a half tons of ammunition, demonstrating that the bombing effect of a bomber is far superior to that of artillery shells.

Meanwhile, the Marines, who were hidden near Pantang Town, also saw the Third Field Army's Seventh Column being bombed. Upon seeing this, Duan Peng asked:

"Si Ling, should we go up and help them?"

Wang Gensheng was speechless at Duan Peng's words:
"Going up to help? How can we help the soldiers of the 7th Column of the Third Field Army get bombed together? We don't have anti-aircraft guns or machine guns. Going up there will only be suicide! Okay, tell the soldiers to prepare for action. We'll take down the airport in Xuzhou in a bit."

Following Wang Gensheng's words, the cavalry regiment began to move out.

Xuzhou Airport is only eight kilometers away from Pantang Town, so Wang Gensheng quickly arrived at Xuzhou Airport.

However, Wang Gensheng did not act immediately but instead observed through binoculars. At this time, Xuzhou Airport was loading bombs onto B-24 bombers, planning to bomb the battlefield of Pantang Town without stopping.

Although the Soviet Air Force had over 900 aircraft of various types at the time, most of them were P-51 Mustang fighters, along with a considerable number of C-46 transport aircraft and other types of reconnaissance and training aircraft. There were only about 100 bombers, mainly B-24 and B-25 strategic bombers. These aircraft were primarily designed to attack high-value strategic targets deep within enemy territory, and their effectiveness in forward strike missions was not ideal.

However, the level of industrialization in the liberated areas at that time was almost zero. Apart from some transportation hubs and a handful of factories, there were not many high-value strategic targets, so the old man's heavy bombers were not very effective.

Furthermore, the main means of supplying the relief forces relied on large-scale manpower and animal power, with only a small amount of motorized transport. They were not heavily dependent on fuel and road conditions, and most of their operations took place at night. Therefore, the limited bomber fleet could not play a decisive role in the course of the war.

Chiang Kai-shek's considerable number of fighter planes were unable to find a suitable opponent, because the Liberation Army had no air force at the time. Even when they served as ground attack aircraft, they had shortcomings such as small payload, short combat radius, and excessive speed.

Furthermore, the tactics employed by the Liberation Army at the time were often surprise ambushes and night battles, making the role of Lao Tzu's air power even less effective. More importantly, like other US-equipped forces, the Lao Tzu Air Force was not part of the US military's operational system; therefore, it relied on US aid for fuel, ammunition, spare parts, and other supporting facilities.

At that time, due to concerns about the intervention of the Soviet Union and their aversion to the old enemy, the Du Lu people had already abandoned the old enemy in the later stages of the relief war. This resulted in their air force being unable to effectively make up for the losses, and due to the economic crisis, they were unable to purchase large quantities through Xianggang. As a result, the size of their air force naturally shrank again and again. For example, in the siege of Changchun, they were even short of fuel and parachutes to airdrop supplies to the defenders.

Of course, an even more important reason why the Du Lu fans dislike Lao Jing is that they were severely tricked by Lao Jing during their campaign for re-election.

Of course, besides being betrayed by Du Lu and his ilk, the fundamental reason for Lao Jing's complete defeat was the economic collapse caused by corruption, as well as the loss of control over rural areas, which led to a lack of food supply and a break in the supply-demand relationship.

After all, apart from Dongbei, the remaining areas were controlled by the Laoji army in the cities, while the Jiefang Army controlled a large number of rural areas.

Although cities may look nice, they are like rootless duckweed. Without the support of food from rural areas, what will the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of urban residents eat and drink?

Even if a city has factories, what's the use of producing industrial goods if they can't be sold?

Farmers in rural areas can live just fine without industrial products, but workers and soldiers in cities will become weak if they don't eat for a day, and will die within a week. Therefore, the loss of a large amount of farmland in rural areas is an important reason for the economic imbalance in China.

The reforms implemented by the Liberation Army ensured that every farmer received land belonging to their own family, which naturally boosted their enthusiasm and led to unprecedented support for the Liberation Army.

More importantly, the Lao Jing army was riddled with factions that undermined each other, making it impossible for him to mobilize strategic mobile forces to reinforce the war zone during the three crucial battles.

Meanwhile, the various strategic groups adopted a passive defense, heavily guarding major cities and transportation hubs, thus surrendering the initiative on the battlefield and creating too many opportunities for the enemy. So how could they not be defeated?

For example, in the Battle of Xuzhou, Lao Zi originally did not intend for Liu Zhi to be the general commander of Xuzhou.

Instead, they wanted Bai Chongxi to serve as the general commander of Xuzhou, so that Bai Chongxi could unite the Guangxi forces to resist the Jiefang Army's Xuzhou offensive plan.

This was already fully demonstrated in the TV series "The Great Battle".

In the drama, Lao Zi humbled himself and invited Bai Chongxi to dinner. However, Bai Chongxi agreed at the dinner table, but after discussing it with Li Zongren, he immediately ran away overnight.

This has led to the current situation, where Xu Zhou's defeat is so obvious, but Bai Chongxi's side hasn't mobilized a single soldier to provide support.

Thus, although the old medaka still has the advantage in terms of manpower, it is nothing more than a disorganized mess.

However, despite the numerous internal problems and issues plaguing the Old Medal Kingdom, these were not the most important factors. The more crucial issue was the Old Medal Kingdom's fatal strategic blunder in diplomacy, which was the decisive factor leading to its defeat.

This diplomatic strategic blunder was, of course, due to his participation in the US election, which led to his being disliked by the US and losing its support. This was the fatal strategic mistake.

(End of this chapter)