Strive for the initiative and avoid passivity. The advantage or disadvantage of strength is the objective basis of initiative or passivity, but whether the subjective guidance is correct or not, the initiative can be gained or lost.————“Quotations from Kongchen”
How to quickly break through an enemy's defense line? Faced with this problem, friends who advocate large army operations may give this answer.
Break through the enemy's surface at one point, concentrate a large number of elite troops, tear apart the opponent's defense line with high-intensity fire support, and then follow-up troops penetrate vertically and horizontally to divide and surround the enemy's effective forces, thus winning the final victory of a battle.
However, this tactical principle that seems to be most suitable for the Hainan Army's operations is not necessarily easy to use under the current circumstances.
The point-breaking attack method is suitable when enemy defenses are concentrated and the battlefield is an open terrain that is more suitable for tank group operations.
However, the Nanjing battlefield in front of us was a mess. Surrounding the city of Nanjing, China and Japan invested approximately 400,000 troops.
There are positions occupied by the Hainan Army, defense areas of the Central Army, and defensive positions of various Japanese divisions. The troops from both sides are intertwined.
The current battlefield environment is obviously not suitable for using point-breaking attacks.
In particular, the Hainan Army's firepower superiority completely defeated the Japanese army, but the Japanese army could not get effective logistical supplies when fighting in depth.
Therefore, a large-scale and high-intensity offensive will not suffer at all for the Hainan Army.
As the supreme commander of the Hainan Army, Li Weidong still has certain uniqueness in strategic combat command.
Besides, even if you have never eaten pork, you have definitely seen pigs running around! After such a long period of training in the headquarters, you will always gain some knowledge.
After his own paratroopers occupied the Zhenjiang Bridge and cut off contact with the Japanese troops in Jiangbei, he keenly realized that the battlefield situation was about to change.
Since the plan to capture Nanjing cannot be realized, it may even be attacked by the Hainan Army and the Central Army.
As long as the Japanese commander had not been kicked in the head by a donkey, it was very likely that he would have retreated and given up the plan to attack Nanjing.
Sure enough, the staff of the headquarters soon discovered some clues from the mobilization of Japanese troops.
Most of the main divisions of the Japanese army showed signs of retreat. For example, the Japanese 50th Division opposite Highland 05 where the Hainan Army was stationed withdrew from its front-line positions due to excessive casualties.
In fact, according to the estimates of the staff department, the casualties of the Japanese 50th Division were not huge, and they were far from being required to be rotated. So many suspicious signs made the Japanese's next move even more obvious.
Faced with the Japanese's possible plan to shrink their troops, Li Weidong knew clearly that the best option at the moment was to give up the war of attrition and fight a large-scale battle with the Japanese in an upright manner.
From a tactical level, Li Weidong decided to carry out an all-out offensive, holding back the retreating Japanese troops through large-scale operations, conducting battles on multiple fronts to increase the attack surface, and looking for opportunities to defeat the Japanese troops.
The current situation is that the Japanese army north of the Yangtze River is still storming the Zhenjiang Bridge, the Japanese army and the Central Army are fighting fiercely on the east line of Nanjing, and the Hainan Army in Hangzhou continues to advance north.
Therefore, Li Weidong clearly set his sights on Danyang City, which is located in the southeast of Zhenjiang.
Danyang is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The terrain is mostly plains and the railway transportation is very convenient. It is a transportation artery for troop mobilization from east to west.
It can be said that occupying Danyang City was a fatal blow to the Japanese army in South China. The Hainan Army formed a line with Zhenjiang and Danyang, forming an encirclement of the Japanese troops attacking Nanjing.
At the same time, it also cut off the supply line of the Japanese army to the west and separated the Japanese army under Nanjing City. With no ammunition and food supplies, their destruction was only a matter of time.
However, although this plan seems simple, it is actually very difficult. The problem of troop strength alone is not easy to solve.
On the battlefield of Nanjing, the Hainan Army only had more than 70,000 troops at its disposal. As for the Central Army, Li Weidong did not hold out much hope.
Regardless of all the bad blood between the Hainan Army and the Central Army, Li Weidong would not dare to leave his back to them just because of the Central Army's combat effectiveness.
What's the saying? Don't be afraid of opponents who are like gods, but be afraid of teammates who are like pigs.
If things go wrong for the Central Army, it will slip away with oil on its soles, opening the door behind the Hainan Army and allowing the Japanese to take advantage. Then who will he cry to?
When the Hainan Army fought against the Japanese army, with basically the same strength, the Hainan Army still had a good chance of winning. So Li Weidong decided to launch an all-out offensive.
What's more, the plain terrain in the Danyang area just made up for the Hainan Army's lack of strength. Li Weidong believed that in the open area, the Hainan Army, which had a large number of tanks, would have an absolute advantage when facing the Japanese army.
Thinking of this, Li Weidong began to order: "Call the First Army Headquarters! Order the Second Field Army of the Hainan Army to immediately move in the direction of Danyang from the day of receiving the order.
In addition, the Hainan Army tank brigade was ordered by telegram to temporarily separate from the First Army sequence and be commanded by the Second Field Army Headquarters to attack Danyang!"
"Yes, General!" The headquarters telegraph source immediately sent Li Weidong's order to the troops receiving the order in the form of secondary encryption.
——————————[Dividing line of all-out attack]——————————
Following the orders from the Hainan Army Headquarters, the huge war machine of the Hainan Army roared into action, which can be seen from the Hainan Army's logistics alone.
Weapons and ammunition were distributed to the troops in large quantities, and the amount of ammunition the soldiers received was much higher than usual. Perhaps the happiest thing is the artillery unit. The limited number of artillery shells in the past are now open to supply, and the God of War will be able to show off as much as he can.
Its roar.
Previously, Li Weidong had been committed to the mechanization of the army, and now his efforts are gradually realizing his original idea.
The soldiers of the Hainan Army's Second Field Army were all riding in military vehicles and marching quickly on the road. Many trucks were dragging heavy artillery pieces on the backs.
From time to time, formations of Hainan Army fighter planes will pass by in the sky. They are not only responsible for fighting for air supremacy over the battlefield, but also shoulder the responsibility of protecting ground troops.
On the hood of a jeep, Wang Shanhu, commander of the Second Army of the Hainan Army, carefully observed the military map and carefully calculated the march time and route.
Suddenly, there was a fierce exchange of fire from the front, as well as the low roar of machine guns, accompanied by a series of explosions of grenades and mortars.
Soon, the voice of the commander of the front troops came over the military radio: "Report! Enemy troops were discovered in the front, and the leading troops encountered resistance!!"
"Ask all the 7th regiment to press on me and annihilate them quickly!" Wang Shanhu frowned and ordered.