Blood-Red Front

"The 14th Brigade reacted quickly, decisively tightening its defenses."

Stepping onto the original offensive position of the 11th Division, Lin Zhiyuan felt somewhat disappointed.

The newly promoted army moved too fast, and the second encirclement plan of the 404th Detachment and the 5th Division failed before it even began.

Guan Jianchu, who was standing to the side, said, "It seems that not all newly promoted soldiers are people of the samurai code; they know what is the most advantageous course of action."

The 14th Brigade quickly withdrew its forces and used Jingshan and Moling Pass as a pincer movement, which directly blocked the Xia army's breakout route.

Now, opening a way out is much more difficult than before.

However, Lin Zhiyuan didn't seem to care much.

"The newly promoted army doesn't really think that it's advantageous. If they were to form a large regiment, it might actually cause some trouble. But now the 14th Brigade has given us the opportunity to defeat them one by one."

Under normal circumstances, the 14th Brigade's actions would indeed be correct, but this is not a normal situation. As someone with special abilities, Lin Zhiyuan prefers the division of troops among the newly promoted soldiers.

"Order the 511th Regiment to occupy Jishan and launch a feigned attack on the enemy forces at Jingshan. The 512th Regiment should construct positions at Zhujiazhuang to prevent the enemy forces at Jingshan from rushing down when we attack Molingguan."

"The 404th Detachment and the 5th Division attacked Moling Pass from the left and right, respectively, adopting a strategy of surrounding three sides while leaving one side open. The 6th Regiment outflanked Moling Pass and set up an ambush south of it."

"yes!"

"Where are the two reinforcement divisions?" Lin Zhiyuan asked.

"We've retreated to Confucius Temple and are advancing towards Yushan," Guan Jianchu reported.

"Send a telegram to headquarters, instructing them not to go to Yushan, and to send two regiments to take over the defense of Qianmachang and Yangjiaba respectively. The remaining troops should be deployed southward along the west bank of the Qinhuai River to prevent the 9th Division from attacking our flank."

"As long as they can hold the river defenses, I can open a way to break through."

"yes!"

Upon receiving Lin Zhiyuan's telegram, Chang Zhongshi did not make any adjustments but instead forwarded it directly to the two infantry divisions providing support.

In order to break through smoothly, Chang Zhongshi also called upon Xia Jun's few aircraft, which made Chu Sheng Jun's bombers dare not act alone easily, and also gave the army the opportunity to march during the day.

……

Standing on the city wall of Moling, Gang Qi saw small groups of Xia soldiers appearing from time to time, and his expression became increasingly serious.

Because the 18th Division had not yet arrived, the 14th Brigade was actually the westernmost wing of the newly promoted army.

If he hadn't stopped the Xia army, then the area tens of kilometers wide west of the Qinhuai River would have become the Xia army's retreat route.

Putting down his binoculars, Okazaki turned and asked, "Is the artillery position completed?"

"It's done," the chief of staff reported. "The heavy artillery regiment and the mountain artillery regiment have been dispersed in company-sized units."

"Although this will cause some calculation difficulties, it should be able to avoid being hit by counter-battery fire."

Although the 14th Brigade had not experienced the effects of the mountain artillery and cannons under Lin Zhiyuan's command, the precision strikes previously carried out by the mortar company of the 6th Regiment had already put the newly formed 14th Brigade on high alert.

At this time, the two artillery regiments under Okazaki's command were an important reason why Shizuyama and Moling, though only 5 kilometers apart, could still support each other.

If the artillery is lost, the 14th Brigade's division will not form a mutually supportive alliance, but will instead be a path to self-destruction.

"We must do a good job of disguising ourselves," Okazaki emphasized again.

"Hi!"

"Most of the artillery is hidden inside the rooms. No matter what detection methods the enemy uses, they definitely won't be able to find it," the chief of staff said confidently.

To construct these artillery positions, the artillery even used explosives for demolition, and the chief of staff did not believe anyone could still see it.

……

While the soldiers of the 14th Brigade were busy preparing, the 404th Detachment and the 5th Division had already arrived near Moling Pass.

Lin Zhiyuan and Qiu Yu'an chose to share an office.

Looking at Moling Pass and then at the sky, Qiu Yu'an said in a deep voice, "Brother Zhiyuan, the weather doesn't look too good."

"Oh? Brother Yu'an also knows about the weather?" Lin Zhiyuan was somewhat surprised.

Although Qiu Yu'an had studied abroad and was a highly educated intellectual, Lin Zhiyuan never expected him to be so fond of talking about his parents.

"I studied armored warfare in Prosper, under the tutelage of General Guderian. Armored warfare is greatly affected by the weather," Qiu Yu'an explained.

"In infantry-armored warfare, the worse the weather, the greater the advantage for the infantry; the better the weather, the greater the advantage for the armored forces."

"I didn't expect Brother Yu'an to be such a rare talent in armored vehicles." Lin Zhiyuan was even more surprised.

The world has never experienced World War I. Although countries are developing tanks, they are mostly used as support firepower for infantry offensives. Large-scale armored warfare is a tactic that only exists in theory.

After his initial surprise, Lin Zhiyuan asked with some curiosity, "Brother Yu'an, why aren't you in the armored regiment? Why are you an infantry commander instead?"

Although the Xia army was poor, it still valued the role of tanks in combat.

Xia Jun also introduced tanks for corresponding combat research, and all of Xia's tanks were in the independent armored regiment.

Qiu Yu'an snorted, "The tanks in the armored regiment were all purchased by Commander-in-Chief Chang. He won't easily let others command them."

Qiu Yu'an is a typical soldier, loyal only to the President. Chang Zhongshi would naturally not hand over the tanks that he had worked so hard to acquire, even though Xia Guo only had this one professional talent.

"As far as I know, Chang Weiguo has already gone to study in Yusa. He will probably come back to serve as the regimental commander in a year or two," Qiu Yu'an added.

Lin Zhiyuan comforted him, saying, "Gold will always shine. Brother Yu'an will definitely have the opportunity to command an armored corps and gallop across the battlefield in the future."

"Let him be," Qiu Yu'an said casually. "If we can't take Moling, who knows what the future holds?"

"It will happen."

The world is indeed very different, and the situation is somewhat similar to a mixture of World War I and World War II. However, through the newspapers, Lin Zhiyuan can confirm that the forces that are fighting against each other around the world are basically the same ones.

In other words, the newly established nation will likely offend the Yusa Federation because of Southeast Asia.

According to Lin Zhiyuan, although Chen Zaizhi may seem to be not very active now, he is by no means a nice guy.

From the revolution to the Northern Expedition, Chen Zaizhi was either causing trouble or on his way to cause trouble every day until the success of the Northern Expedition, at which point he finally settled down.

Therefore, Lin Zhiyuan judged that when the Yusa Federation came knocking on their door because of the common enemy, the Rising Nation, bloodshed was inevitable, and tanks were naturally indispensable as well.

……

As night fell, a sudden downpour began.

Looking at the pouring rain outside, Guan Jianchu asked, "Should we still proceed as planned?"

Although Kyoto is located in the Jiangnan region, it is still quite cold at this time of year, and if they get caught in the rain, a large number of soldiers will definitely suffer from hypothermia.

"Proceed as planned," Lin Zhiyuan affirmed.

The plan is set in stone; at this point, even if it rains or snows, the plan cannot be changed.

"yes!"

……