si-mexico Chapter 929: Building a Defense Line Around Beiping
Chapter 929: Building a Defense Line Around Beiping
Because the 3rd Infantry Brigade had just been formed, it was also the reserve force of the entire division. According to Zhao Tiezhu's battle plan, the Japanese army basically had no route of advance on the north and west sides of Peiping.
"Let me explain this to you all. Although I've drawn up your respective battle lines, they're not set in stone. You all need to use them flexibly. If a Japanese army sets up camp right before us, as long as you have enough armor to charge out and destroy them, that's perfectly acceptable."
After making the arrangements, Zhao Tiezhu quickly told his men not to lock them in their original positions for defensive reasons, as this was not what they had originally intended.
"Commander, if you had said that earlier, we would have understood. We originally thought that if we had to dig trenches and build a good defense line on the position, we wouldn't be able to rush out to fight. If that were the case, then we would have been wasting our time."
Zhao Tiezhu laughed heartily upon hearing his men's words. This was how an army should behave, always prioritizing attack as their top priority.
No matter what order we follow, we must think about taking the initiative to attack. This is the best defense. If we defeat the enemy's offensive forces, do we still need to hold the defense line? Isn't it just a matter of a word to recapture Peking?
"There's a high probability of a large-scale war in Pujiang. Although we can't go to Pujiang to help, we can turn Peking upside down and keep the North China Front Army in dire straits. I don't believe the Japanese won't care about the gains and losses in Peking. By then, their troops will be like moths to a flame, being transported to North China in batches, and our mission will be to slaughter them one by one."
When Zhao Tiezhu said this, he punched the table. The location of his fist was exactly where the Japanese North China Front Army Headquarters was located. Half a month later, the North China Front Army Headquarters would move to Beijing.
At this moment, Li Shaoyi had returned to the Chahar headquarters. The war was about to break out in Pujiang. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Shaoyi came back to meet with various senior officials.
"I truly feel bad for having the Chief of Staff pick me up at the airport. How dare a defeated general make such a grand display?"
When Li Shaoyi stepped off the plane, the three-service guard of honor was already standing at the airport. This is currently the only three-service guard of honor in the country.
When the Chief of Staff wanted to establish a guard of honor, Li Shaoyi expressed his opposition, saying that our main focus is fighting the war and not doing all these fancy things.
But now it seems that our vision still cannot catch up with Chief of Staff Cui. Chief of Staff Cui said at the time that the honor guard represents the image of the army. Our three-service honor guard frequently appears in major newspapers, which attracts many young people to join the army.
According to the analysis of the big data department, at least 15 percent of people were attracted by the photos of the honor guard. Li Shaoyi did not expect it to have such a big effect.
No wonder in the 21st century, our honor guards are striving for excellence.
"If killing 300,000 enemies is considered a defeat, then who in our country's history can be considered a victor? Others may not understand the Marshal's strategy, but I see it very clearly..."
Chief of Staff Cui saluted very respectfully. He was one of the few people who understood part of Li Shaoyi's strategic plan.
Take the war in North China for example. It is impossible to not lose any territory at this stage. Li Shaoyi has now let the Japanese in. The Japanese have lost a lot of people when occupying this area, and they will also lose a lot of people if they want to defend this area in the future.
If we defend Tianjin to the death, we can do it according to the current situation of the Chahar base, but we will put all our mobile forces in North China. Japan's losses in North China may be only 300,000, or even less than 200,000, after all, they are minus the 100,000 lost in the attack on Beijing.
After Li Shaoyi and his men retreated, if the Japanese army wanted to maintain its rule in North China, it would need nearly 150,000 people to occupy this place, which meant that Japan had spent nearly 500,000 people.
But if they had defended Tianjin to the death, the Japanese army would have lost 100,000 fewer people, and the subsequent 150,000 people would not have occupied North China, which meant that they would have an extra 250,000 fresh troops. If these 250,000 victorious troops were combined with the original troops and sent to Pujiang, one can imagine how large the Pujiang battlefield would be.
Even if we continue to send out 700,000 troops, it may be difficult to resist the Japanese offensive.
Most people cannot figure out this account, but if Chief of Staff Cui cannot figure it out, then he is not suitable to be the Chief of Staff of the 72nd Army.
"The fundamental reason is that the gap in comprehensive national strength between us and Japan is too great. I originally thought that we were developing rapidly enough to fight a decisive battle with Japan in Tianjin, but after the actual fighting began, I discovered that their losses could be quickly replenished, while we would be exposed to various problems during the war."
On the way back, Li Shaoyi also started talking to the chief of staff about the problems we had exposed.
The first issue is about replenishing the manpower. Japan does not have many standing troops, but there are many young people who have received military training. When war comes, they can be trained a little and immediately become a field army.
Looking at the speed of our development, it is indeed fast enough. In the history of military development in the world, we can also take the lead. However, our foundation is too poor and the follow-up troops are not operating well. Normally, if we lose 5,000 to 10,000 troops a month, it is not a big deal for us. However, if we lose more than 30,000 troops in a month, the pressure on logistics will be very great.
This is also one of the reasons why Li Shaoyi retreated from North China. The war has just begun. In the next period of time, we still have a long way to go. If our logistics collapse at the beginning, how can we resist the enemy in the next period of time?
"Exposing problems is a good thing. I've recently formed a staff group consisting of 35 grassroots combat staff officers from within the military. Their mission is to identify problems exposed during the war, compile a record of them all, and then send them back to the General Staff Headquarters for specialized research. Every problem must be answered; nothing can be left unanswered."
Victory and defeat on the battlefield, and summarizing the battle afterward, are all crucial links. The Chief of Staff has long understood these things, so summarizing the battle afterward has become extremely important...