After hearing this, Wang Guangyu pondered for a while before saying: "No. 1, if the headquarters has more general reserves on hand, I hope to allocate two to three regiments of troops to me. If the headquarters is really in difficulty, even one regiment That's fine, but it would be best to detach a regiment from the 27th Division, which currently serves as the general reserve of the entire army.
"Although this division is a newly formed unit, it is formed based on the original independent brigade of the Songjiang Military Region. The units formed are also the basic regiments of the original divisions. The combat effectiveness and average strength are still the same among the newly formed divisions. It's quite good, and some of the troops are from my old background when I was the commander of the 1st Division, so they are relatively easy to command."
Regarding Wang Guangyu's request, Yang Zhen pondered for a while but then shook his head and said: "The troops of the 27th Division cannot move for the time being. In this way, I will transfer a reinforcement regiment from the 19th Division to you. The Nenjiang Military Region has dispatched two divisional cadre regiments, and these troops will be placed under your command."
Wang Guangyu was somewhat excited when he heard that Yang Zhen had mobilized troops for him. The 19th Division was the only main division formed last year among the reserve forces currently in the hands of the military region, and the various military divisions under his own Nenjiang Military Region Although the troops are in the name of a basic regiment, due to the bandit suppression operations after the battle last autumn and the front-line battle in Hylar at the beginning of the year, they are actually fully staffed.
Although these two basic regiments have not changed their equipment because automatic rifles have been given priority to equip the main force and maintain a certain reserve. They are now equipped with Polish rifles and light and heavy machine guns, but their combat effectiveness is definitely not weak. Although they do not have heavy mortars , but it is equipped with one company each of infantry artillery and 82mm mortars, the battalion has heavy machine guns, and each squad has one light machine gun. The equipment can be said to be quite good.
The headquarters can mobilize these troops for itself under the situation that the whole line has been deployed. This shows that the headquarters attaches great importance to its own side. It only mobilizes these troops, especially the 19th Division is currently the only main division with senior qualifications in the hands of the headquarters. Will it? It would affect the headquarters' follow-up combat plan. He could see the hesitation on No. 1's face just now.
When Yang Zhen saw the number and organization of the troops he had promised to allocate, Wang Guangyu looked almost unbelievable. He just smiled and quickly drafted a telegram himself and handed it to the man behind Wang Guangyu from the headquarters. The confidential staff he brought was asked to forward it to Guo Bingxun immediately.
Then he said to Wang Guangyu: "Don't think too much. Concentrate on finishing the war on your side first. How many troops should be allocated to you? How many troops the headquarters can currently mobilize? I know it well. The whole army is a chess game. The headquarters You won’t be principled just because you complain about a certain aspect.”
"The sooner you solve the problem here, the more free your hands will be to relieve some pressure on other directions. Don't forget, when the reinforcements arrive, you will have two divisions with tens of thousands of troops here, plus how many more Wherever tanks and cavalry are placed, the Japanese army will stab their backs."
"It is almost impossible for any commander to face such a large amount of troops without pressure. Even if you are not transferred to other combat directions and converted into reserves, you are a huge threat here, and even more so What's more, going west from Linxi is the flank of the entire Japanese central front. If you are willing, you can go east to attack Jilin, and go south and enter Fengtian at any time. This is undoubtedly a huge threat to the Kwantung Army."
"So don't think too much and concentrate on fighting this battle. Only when you completely solve the problem here can the headquarters be free to implement the next battle plan. You are at the center of the entire battle. All other directions are actually cooperating with your actions, so you can only succeed here but not fail."
Regarding Yang Zhen's words, Wang Guangyu, who was very aware of the headquarters' intention to initiate this campaign, nodded slightly. Wang Guangyu still had a clear and accurate judgment on the position of his headquarters after the launch of the campaign, precisely because His position is critical, and he focuses on stability in the use of tactics.
Seeing Wang Guangyu's statement, Yang Zhen thought for a moment before saying: "These troops are in Qiqihar now. It is estimated that the airlift will start early tomorrow morning. If everything goes well, they can all be transported within 24 hours. But before that, you must ensure the safety of Linxi Airport."
"With a large-scale transport fleet, it is almost impossible not to alert the 23rd Division, which is just around the corner. Once the 23rd Division discovers that our army has begun a large-scale airlift, it is bound to make a certain response. You said before However, although the Japanese army is now unable to implement a comprehensive fire blockade of the airport, it is still carrying out sneak attacks on the airport with cold artillery fire."
"I don't care what method you use. Before tomorrow morning, I must completely curb this move of the Japanese army. We don't have many transport planes, and every soldier is more precious. These transport planes have no defense capabilities on the ground. It can be completely destroyed by firing a cannonball."
"And Linxi Airport is not only a landing airport for your airlift reinforcements, but also a transit airport for the future air bridge between the Anti-Japanese Alliance and the Advance Army. It is also the main combat readiness airport for the aviation force to provide air support for the Advance Army. In this Before the battle ends, this will be an important aviation base for us."
"But if this situation continues, I am very worried about whether this airport can be used safely, whether our aviation forces can use this place as a safe base, and whether Linxi Airport can serve as a safe base for us in future operations. It plays a guarantee role in winning the battle."
Yang Zhen's words were very serious, especially the three words, which pierced Wang Guangyu's mind like a needle. As soon as his words fell, Wang Guangyu's face turned bright. Suddenly, it turned red. For him, this battle has indeed been a waste of time. He himself did not deny this. But now, although No. 1 did not say it directly, he could hear the meaning.
Although Wang Guangyu's temperament is relatively peaceful compared with that of Du Kaishan and others who are very individualistic, but his peaceful temperament does not mean that his self-esteem and temper are the kind of amiable and arrogant ones. In fact, he can fight in a war. During this period, the people who took the position of senior commanders were basically those who had no personality or any sharp edges and could not fight exciting battles.
It's just that although his personality is somewhat peaceful, it at best shows that his personality is less fiery than others, especially his self-control ability, which is much better than others. However, as the first division commander in the army, he is the first As a commander, and now as a senior general serving as deputy commander of the Northeast Field Army, Wang Guangyu is still a person with a very strong self-esteem.
Yang Zhen's last words made Wang Guangyu, who had a strong self-esteem, stand up at that time, but his impulse was only for a moment, and he sat back down again. After all, he was a senior commander, and as the deputy commander of the field army, although Wang Guangyu said Wang Guangyu was stimulated by Yang Zhen's words, but after all, his head was still quite clear, especially when the battle was not going well, Wang Guangyu finally chose to remain silent.
In fact, after the artillery battle, Wang Guangyu did not underestimate the Japanese artillery because his artillery severely damaged the artillery of the 23rd Division. After the artillery battle, he mobilized all the reconnaissance forces at hand and The purpose was to find out the losses of Japanese artillery during the battle, and secondly, to find out the location of the remaining Japanese artillery positions.
As a veteran, Wang Guangyu knew very well that the extent of losses suffered by the artillery of the 23rd Division in the artillery battle could not be judged simply from the intensity of the Japanese counterattack in subsequent battles. Although the artillery observation post also sent back a lot of information, it still could not reassure him.
Because he knew that based on the strength he deployed at the airport, he did not have to worry about the Japanese infantry launching a counterattack at the airport, but what he was most worried about was the Japanese army's use of long-range artillery fire to block the airport. Those aircraft could dominate the sky for a while, but on the ground But it is like a restrained lamb, with no ability to resist, especially during the takeoff and landing of the plane, it is extremely fragile.
Even if there is no direct hit, as long as a shell falls on the runway of the airport, it will bring disaster to the aircraft taking off and landing, not to mention the large amount of materials, fuel, and other materials that may be piled up there when the aviation force activates the airport. There is a large amount of ammunition for combat use.
If the Japanese army is determined to use only artillery fire for long-range blockade, even if it is just harassing the airport with cold artillery, it will cause great trouble to the use of the airport, and may even directly paralyze the airport and cause serious damage to the aircraft parked here. Threat, Wang Guangyu took great pains to find out the strength of the remaining Japanese artillery.
As a senior commander, he knew that the safety of Linxi Airport was directly related to whether it could provide a safe forward base for aviation, so he raided the cavalry brigade to seize Linxi Airport and rushed his main force to Linxi. After entering the territory, he did not hesitate to weaken his own strength, which was not too much, and deployed a strengthened infantry battalion, a cavalry battalion, and a tank company around Linxi Airport.
As well as a Soviet-made 47mm battle defense artillery battery and a Soviet-made 76mm regiment-affiliated field artillery battery obtained from Mongolia, the coordinates of all artillery units within five miles around the airport were marked. The artillery in his hands includes a 122 rocket launcher battery, a 75mm mountain artillery battery, and a 100mm howitzer battery, which are responsible for providing artillery support when needed in the direction of the airport. At the same time, he also specially mobilized engineers to A large number of minefields are deployed around the airport.
Judging from the terrain around the airport and the troops and firepower he deployed, even if the Japanese army concentrated an infantry regiment to launch a sneak attack, his defenders at the airport could resist for more than four hours with the support of artillery fire. You can also take precautions by using small units to infiltrate and attack, or by strengthening vigilance.
But if the Japanese army uses artillery fire for a sneak attack, it is the most difficult to prevent. People can avoid the artillery shells through the trajectory of the artillery shells fired by the Japanese army and the sound of the artillery shells breaking through the air. However, those aircraft that are quite heavy after landing cannot be avoided. However, However, the Japanese army precisely adopted the method of concentrated firing and sneak attacks by single artillery or small artillery groups.