Listening to Yang Zhen's worries about the battlefield in Shanxi, the boss nodded and said: "The central government has already taken this into consideration. Now one unit each of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region is launching operations in southeastern Shanxi and northeastern Shanxi.
The defense line of the First Army is launching an attack. The main forces of Taiyue and Jinsui Military Region have launched a pincer offensive around Taiyuan."
"At the same time, the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region has concentrated the main force of four brigades, as well as the local armed forces of six regiments from the Hebei-Shanxi and Taihang Military Regions, for a total of fifteen regiments. Under the unified command of the deputy commander of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region, it has been along the
They deployed on both sides of the Zhengtai Railway and launched an attack on Yangquan."
"At the moment, on the Shanxi battlefield, the entire Zhengtai Railway, from Niangziguan to Shouyang, has been cut off. At the same time, our military units on the Shanxi battlefield have been tightly locked with the main force of the Japanese First Army. On the Shanxi battlefield, from now on
See, you don’t have to worry too much.”
"However, compared to the First Army in Shanxi, the central government is more worried about the Japanese army transporting reinforcements by sea to land in Tanggu. The Shandong Military Region has already carried out large-scale damage to the Jinpu Railway. If the Japanese army increases troops from Central China and the East China battlefield, it will
At present, relying on the sea route is the most convenient way, and it is also the most stringent way to keep confidentiality."
"Comrade Yang Zhen, the First Army in Shanxi is an obvious enemy. Moreover, our army has the upper hand on the battlefield in Shanxi. At the same time, after the training last year and the first half of this year, the equipment and military quality of the army have been greatly improved.
.Before this battle, you mobilized some artillery troops to enter the Shanxi battlefield to strengthen the firepower of our Shanxi troops."
"It can be said that on the battlefield in Shanxi, our army has an absolute advantage in terms of strength and firepower. In addition, your old deputy division commander was responsible for commanding the blockade of the battlefield in southeastern Shanxi, and the original commander-in-chief of the Fourth Front Army had rich experience. We are not
I am very worried that the Shanxi First Army will pose too great a threat to the entire Hebei battlefield."
"But the Japanese army that may land from Tanggu is a hidden enemy for us. When the Japanese reinforcements will arrive and how many reinforcements will come, this is unforeseeable for us. It is unforeseen on the battlefield.
The enemy is the most dangerous to us."
"Not to mention that we have destroyed part of the Jinpu Railway line now. The Jinpu Road north of northern Jiangsu is basically paralyzed. As for the Jinpu Railway, which has not been destroyed, in order to cover up strategic intentions and the number of reinforcements, when the Japanese army reinforces the North China battlefield, they will also
Take the approach of walking on two legs. Land transportation and sea transportation operate simultaneously to speed up reinforcements."
"Especially now that the entire coast of China is still a safe zone for the Japanese navy. We don't have a navy, and we don't even have a sampan. In the vast sea, it is impossible to judge the Japanese reinforcement route.
and the number of reinforcements."
"If we give up the front line between Tianjin and Tanggu, we will hand over the strategic initiative to the Japanese army. The Japanese army can use the two ports of Tanggu and Tianjin at any time to transport a large number of reinforcements to the North China battlefield. Comrade Yang Zhen, in order to prevent
Japanese reinforcements, how many troops do you need to suppress Tianjin? In this world, you can only commit a thief for a thousand days, but there is no reason to guard against a thief for a thousand days."
"Judging from the fact that the Japanese naval fleet currently concentrated in Tanggu Port has not been attacked in such a long time from the start of the battle to now. The U.S. Navy is fulfilling its previous agreement with us by sending submarines into the Bohai Bay.
activities, and the agreement to blockade Tanggu Port was very half-hearted, and it is possible that there was no thought of implementation at all.”
"Judging from this incident, we cannot rely on them at all to block China's coastline and prevent the Japanese navy from deploying troops through sea routes. We have to rely on ourselves. Judging from the current situation, we can only do it ourselves.
Take action and have enough food and clothing."
"This is also the main reason why the central government requested to attack Tianjin and Tanggu first. It is to control the strategic initiative in our own hands. To prevent the enemy from landing at sea, destroy the largest Japanese military port in North China, and cut off the Japanese army from the sea.
The route for reinforcements and material transportation. If they want reinforcements, they can only take the Jinpu Railway, so that we can turn the hands of their clock."
"Comrade Yang Zhen, I don't have much objection to your adjustment of strategic priorities according to the development of the situation. But when it comes to the choice of strategic focus directions, I hope you'd better consider it carefully. I think it should still be in the direction of Tianjin.
Mainly, block this most convenient and safest channel through which the Japanese army can reinforce North China."
The boss's disapproval made Yang Zhen hesitate, but finally said: "Boss, compared to the First Army in Shanxi, we have made certain preparations for the enemy who may land in Tanggu. The Japanese seaborne reinforcements are indeed ours
It is difficult for the military to control it. Our intelligence network currently has no way to cover the sea."
"As for me personally, I do not and will not place all my hopes on the U.S. Navy. Boss, I never place my hopes on outsiders, especially the Americans. But I still think that attacking Tianjin or Tanggu now is not worth the gain.
Yes, and there is no need for that.”
"So we have also begun to make some responses to the fact that the Japanese army will definitely use sea transportation to reinforce North China. Although sea transportation reinforcements are elusive and difficult to grasp, there is one thing we can grasp. That is the dependence of sea transportation on ports, or
Quite big.”
"Although our intelligence network cannot be deployed on the sea, we can monitor several ports in central and eastern China. In ports such as Wuhan, Nanjing, Shanghai, and Ningbo, we can use local underground party organizations to monitor them.
Implement secret surveillance. At the same time, we dispatch reconnaissance planes to cooperate with our underground party in monitoring Tanggu Port."
"In terms of military solutions, we have now deployed a combat squadron of Blenheim light bombers in the Genan area, as well as the only three squadrons of US-made Dauntless dive bombers we have in hand. These three aviation squadrons
It does not participate in any battle in any direction and is specifically used to blockade Tanggu Port."
"Boss, Tianjin Port is a river port. Originally, it was impossible for large ships to sail to Tianjin Port. Now it is the dry season in winter, and the navigation capacity is even more limited. If the Japanese army wants to massively reinforce North China by sea, they can only use Tanggu Port.
,This undoubtedly also increases the convenience of our monitoring."
"No matter how many reinforcements the Japanese army brings by sea, as long as we sink one ship, we can send a large group of Japanese troops to the bottom of the sea. If we sink a few ships, we can blockade the entire Tanggu Port. Even if the Japanese army adopts barge exchange
We can use light ships to directly send reinforcements to Tianjin. But as long as we sink one of their barges along the Xinhe River, it will be enough to block the entire river's very low navigation capacity."
"In order to cut off the Japanese army from reinforcing the North China battlefield by sea, we do not need to capture Tianjin and Tanggu directly. Because by capturing Tanggu and Tianjin by land, the Japanese army can also land in the same direction from Beitang and Dagukou. But we keep Tanggu and Tianjin.
The two ports actually acted as a bait invisibly."
"We can completely adopt an air blockade to seal off the river port of Tianjin Port, and at the same time concentrate a group of bombers to blockade Tanggu Port. Instead of us, it is very likely that the gain will not be worth the loss. The price we paid for sinking a transport ship
It may only be a few aerial bombs, but the results achieved can only be obtained by hard work on the ground."
"But if we attack Tanggu directly, we will not only have to face the stubborn resistance of the Japanese ground troops, the unfavorable terrain that prevents large-scale operations, and be surrounded by enemies on three sides, but we will also have to withstand heavy artillery fire from Japanese ships on the sea. This price is not
It will be smaller than when we focus on Peking.”
"Abandoning Tanggu and attacking Tianjin directly, we also face the same problem. Capturing Tianjin cannot completely block the Japanese reinforcement route, but our attacking troops will also face the situation of being attacked from three sides. At the same time, we must mobilize a large number of troops along the coastline.
Expand, especially the line from Dagu to Qikou and Beitang to Hangu, to prevent the Japanese troops from landing from the flanks and outflanking our attacking troops."
"Although their large naval warships cannot go up, they can only provide fire support on the Tanggu front line, and artillery fire cannot penetrate deep into the inland Tianjin surroundings. However, light destroyers, coastal defense ships and gunboats can directly enter Zizhulin Port in urban Tianjin
area to provide fire support for ground operations."
"Although the Haihe River is not as deep as the Huangpu River, it is currently in the dry season in winter. However, the Japanese army not only has large battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, but also a large number of light gunboats and coastal defense ships. These light ships sail directly to Tianjin City
There are still no problems.”
"In addition to the Japanese naval fleet concentrated in the Tanggu sea, the Japanese army transferred four shallow-water gunboats from the Yangtze River and Hong Kong to Tianjin before the war. The largest of them, the Suma gunboat, was a British cargo captured by the Japanese in Hong Kong.
.This gunboat is equipped with two 152mm naval guns, which are quite astonishingly powerful."
"These light ships will pose a great threat to our attack on Tianjin. Boss, there are not only Japanese in Tianjin, but also a large number of Chinese civilians. We use rat traps, but the Japanese army has no such scruples. Most of the docks in Tianjin Port are
In the urban area of Tianjin, these 125mm artillery shells fell, causing a lot of casualties."
"Boss, the Japanese troops in Tianjin and Peiping have different deployment postures. The main force of the Japanese army in Peiping is outside the city, especially in the mountains of Pingxi and Pingbei. They are trying to use the mountains as a barrier to contain our army's offensive. However, the main force of the Japanese army in Tianjin has shrunk.
On the front line between Tianjin and Tanggu, the focus is on the two urban areas of Tianjin and Tanggu. It is almost impossible for us to attack Tianjin without engaging in street fighting."
"The most important thing is that when we attack Tianjin, we have three Japanese divisions around Peiping and two heavy troop groups that are independent mixed brigades. During the launch of the Tianjin campaign, how many troops do we have to use to fight to the death?
Keep an eye on the Japanese army in Peiping? If you are slightly careless and let this Japanese army stand out, no matter which direction you invest, it will change the course of the battle."
Although Yang Zhen did not say it explicitly, his explanation still clearly told the boss that he did not intend to change his idea of encircling and annihilating the enemy forces around Beiping first. In the entire Pingjin battlefield, he still decided to focus on Peiping. For Tianjin
Some of the troops on the front line were used to contain and monitor the situation. Aviation troops were also dispatched to blockade Tianjin Port and Tanggu Port with all their strength, destroying the enemy's reinforcements at sea.
He always insisted that if the focus of the Peking-Tianjin battlefield was changed to the direction of Tianjin, and a large number of Japanese troops were left in Peiping, it might lead to a situation of focusing on one at the expense of the other. Especially in Peiping, a key part of the rear of the Jizhong battlefield, leaving
Having so many Japanese troops was a huge hidden danger.
If these three divisions around Peiping plus the two independent mixed brigades of the Japanese army can be dealt with in advance, then even if the Japanese First Army in Shanxi abandons all Shanxi troops and marches eastward from the Taihang Mountains, the Japanese army will reinforce three divisions or more from Tanggu.
Then you will be able to face new enemies with ease.