Having said this, Sui Changqing looked at the unrecognizable Shenghongshan in front of him and said: "Commander, what we should be most worried about now is that the Japanese troops in Chaori Mountain will withdraw to the Qingshilizi line. Shenghongshan is the water source of the Japanese permanent preparation fortification group in Chaori Mountain. , it is also their food supply point.”
"Without the water source, the Japanese army inside Asahi Mountain can't hold on for too long even if they have strong fortifications. People can live for ten days without eating, but they can't survive even three days without drinking water. Even if the Japanese army has the willpower He’s a bit more tenacious, but he can’t go without water for a long time.”
"But Qingshilizi is different. Not only does it have its own water source, but it also has relatively sufficient reserves of food and ammunition. I think that the support points of the entire fortress group, Shenghong Mountain and Xunshan, were lost one after another, as well as the water source and food reserves. If the situation persists, the Japanese troops in Asahi Mountain will most likely retreat to the fortification area from Mulu Mountain to Qingshilizi where supplies are sufficient."
"If all the remaining Japanese troops shrink to Qingshilizi, relying on the complex terrain there and sufficient food and ammunition reserves, they can hold on for a longer time. I think as long as the heads of the remaining Japanese troops are not rusty, they should abandon Chaori Mountain and retreat to Qingshilizi. It is their best choice. And it is getting dark now, which is the best time for the Japanese army to take action. We must be prepared to prevent the Japanese army from retreating to Qingshilizi under the cover of darkness."
"Compared with the Shenghongshan line where there is a railway line directly leading into the mountain, which can facilitate the mobilization of heavy equipment by our army, especially the train artillery that played a great role in this battle. Qingshilizi has too complex terrain because of the surrounding terrain, and There is only a simple road that was blown up by the Japanese army."
"If all the remaining Japanese troops shrink to Qingshilizi, relying on the complex terrain there and sufficient food and ammunition reserves, they can hold on for a longer time. I think as long as the heads of the remaining Japanese troops are not rusty, they should abandon Chaori Mountain and retreat to Qingshilizi. It is their best choice. And it is getting dark now, which is the best time for the Japanese army to take action. We must be prepared to prevent the Japanese army from retreating to Qingshilizi under the cover of darkness."
"For us, the so-called border fortification area of Qingshilizi cannot be compared with the Shenghongshan fortress group in terms of the solidity of the fortifications. However, the terrain it is located in is more complicated than the Shenghongshan line. And there is no Without the support of the railway line, our heavy artillery group cannot enter the optimal effective range as it does now. There are only two captured Japanese heavy artillery tractors in Laoma, and the state of the roads there cannot withstand these heavy artillery."
"Without the cover of the heavy artillery group, and if the Japanese army in Asahi Mountain really retreats to the Qingshilizi line as I guessed, with its dense troops and firepower, then if we want to completely annihilate the Kwantung Army's first border garrison, Completely retaking the entire Dongning Fortress will be the biggest obstacle to the entire plan. Perhaps, it will also be a hard nut to crack for us."
"Also Commander, after this battle, our heavy artillery group has very few artillery shells left on hand. We have no way to manufacture these artillery shells now. The limited inventory on hand, except for the part captured by the headquarters in Harbin, is in Da A batch seized from the secret warehouse of the Japanese army in Duchuan. After these days of intensive consumption, we cannot say that the shells on hand are all used up, but there are not many left."
"Now there are less than 20 rounds of 300mm artillery shells captured in Lao Manali, and there are only eight rounds of 240mm cannon shells left. And after these days of intensive use, the barrels are also worn out. It’s quite powerful. Now we can no longer use the tactic of shooting at close range with large charges in order to increase the power of artillery shells.”
"Commander, in order to support us in taking down the two fortress groups of Shenghongshan and Xunshan, Lao Ma did everything possible. Not only did his heavy artillery suffer a lot of wear and tear, but compared with other small and medium-caliber artillery shells, the very precious artillery shells were also We are almost out. Commander, in the next battle to attack the Qingshilizi front line, we must be mentally prepared. Be prepared to not have heavy artillery fire support."
Regarding Sui Changqing's prediction of the Japanese army's next move, Du Kaishan nodded slightly. Although he, the chief of staff, sometimes thinks a little more complicatedly on some non-military issues, especially when it comes to politics. But for His judgment of the battlefield situation and grasp of the battle situation are very good. This is something that Du Kaishan has always been very satisfied with. Although his personality seems a bit trivial, he is very suitable for the chief of staff, a job that itself seems a bit trivial.
And what satisfied Du Kaishan the most about Sui Changqing was his meticulousness, especially in the preparation before and during the battle. It can be said that he had to do everything by himself. This characteristic of Sui Changqing made Du, who was not used to trivial work and did not like to care about non-military issues, Opening the mountain relieved a lot of burdens.
Du Kaishan still believed in Sui Changqing's judgment ability on the battlefield. After the strongest fortress had been completely destroyed, and there was no supply of water and food, the Japanese troops in Chaori Mountain retreated to the Qingshilizi line where the Japanese troops immediately set up positions. It should be a good choice for the Japanese army.
Now that the Shenghongshan Fortress Group and the Xunshan Fortress Group have been lost, and the entire Shenghongshan Fortress Group has lost its main support point and vital water source, there is no need for the Japanese troops on the Chaori Mountain line to hold on. Unless it's a wooden fish head that stubbornly stands firm and refuses to retreat.
And judging from the development of the previous battle situation, there are not many Japanese troops on the front line of Chaori Mountain. Whether it is the number of troops or the firepower configuration, there is no comparison between Shenghongshan and Xunshan, which are equipped with a lot of heavy artillery. However, the strategic location is relatively important. Some of them are the link between the three major fortress groups in Shenghongshan and Qingshilizi.
Among the entire Dongning fortress group that winds for more than 100 kilometers from north to south, the Qingshilizi line between Miaogou and Shenghong Mountain, although mainly composed of civil engineering works, is a key part connecting the entire Dongning fortress group. As the southernmost of the three fortresses in Shenghong Mountain, the Chaorishan Fortress is connected to the Qingshilizi line of mountains and rivers. It is the southern barrier of the Shenghongshan line and an important connection point in the northern part of the Dongning fortress group.
But now that the front line of Shenghongshan has been lost and the need to stick to it has been lost, anyone with a little more brains will not choose to continue to stick to it. On this point, Sui Changqing's focus is quite accurate. Thinking of this, Du Kaishan Use red and blue pencils to draw a red circle on the bluestone line on the map.
After carefully analyzing the current situation of the Japanese army, as well as the terrain of Chaori Mountain, Mulu Mountain, and Qingshilizi, the last positions of the Japanese army in the entire Dongning Fortress Group, Du Kaishan quickly made a decision: "Order to attack one brigade and one regiment.
After completing the clearing of Shenghong Mountain, there is no need to rest and move one battalion of the attached wild mountain artillery to the Qingshilizi line overnight. They must arrive before dawn tomorrow and prepare for the attack in the early morning."
"Reinforcing the column of the Second Regiment of the Solitary Brigade, which is under the First Battalion of Chongshan Artillery, the 105th Cannon Artillery Battalion, and directly under the First Battalion of 100mm Howitzer, launch an attack on the front line of Mulu Mountain. Strive to cut off the southward retreat channel of the Japanese troops on the front line of Chaori Mountain and isolate Chaori Mountain.
The Japanese troops on the front line. If the Japanese troops retreat first, they will immediately launch a pursuit and never give the Japanese troops a chance to breathe."
"At the same time, I sent a message to Director Peng Shilu who was staying in Dong'an and ordered him to stay in Mishan. Except for the first regiment and the second regiment of the original fourth division in Dong'an, except for leaving one battalion each to cooperate with the Ministry of Social Affairs in the elimination of enemy agents, the other units immediately went south to Dongning.
Set up defenses to the west of Laohei Mountain. Tell them that I will only give them twenty-four hours, and even if they are exhausted, they will have to rush to the front line of Dongning."
"Order the 1st Regiment of the original 1st Division to stay in Muling, as well as the 1st Column ** Regiment formed by the Baoqing County Brigade, to immediately go south to Muling, Tumen, and Wangqing, and launch an attack on Luojiagouzi from Tumen to
The Laosongling front line launches an attack. Cooperate with the second column headquarters in Mudanjiang and Ning'an front lines. You send a message to Ma Chunsheng, the chief of staff of the second column who is staying in Mudanjiang, and tell him that my two regiments will be under his unified command from now on."
Sui Changqing naturally knew the reason why Du Kaishan mobilized all the troops staying in Mishan, Dongning and Muling to go south. Whether it was to move the two regiments staying in Dong'an and Mishan to go south, or to move the two regiments staying in Muling south.
The main reason for ensuring the two regiments on the flanks of the entire column heading south was to protect the flanks of the column after the third regiment of the One Brigade moved south to Laoheishan. The main reason was probably for the second column heading south.
In addition to transferring the two regiments of the original fourth division that were left in Mishan to the west of Laoheishan, part of the reason was to ensure the safety of the rear of the column and prevent the Japanese counterattack in Tumen. The two regiments that were left in Muling were transferred south and entered Tumen.
They cooperated with a brigade that went south from Ning'an and entered the southern Jingbo Lake area and was ordered to stay in Mudanjiang. They attacked the Luojiagouzi line in Tumen and Laosongling in order to attract the attention of the Japanese army and ensure the flanks of the second column.
Safety.
It's just that Sui Changqing seemed a little hesitant about Du Kaishan's order. After the two regiments staying in Muling went south, there was only one left in the entire Muling territory, which had just been upgraded by the Yilan County brigade, and its combat effectiveness was not ranked among the three columns*
*Second Regiment. Although these two regiments can attract the Japanese troops in Hunchun by moving south and reduce the pressure on the second column, their flanks and rear are too weak.
Moreover, after the current long-term battle, the troops with heavy casualties are in urgent need of reinforcements. Since the column marched eastward, after more than 20 days of hard fighting, most of them were offensive operations. The casualties of the entire three columns were no more than those of the Western Front.
The first and fourth verticals go there lightly.
At present, the regiments of the three columns are seriously short of personnel due to heavy casualties in previous battles. As the main combat force, the two regiments of the only brigade are nominally two regiments, but in fact the two regiments added together can only
Organized into four battalions. And if the lightly wounded and non-combat troops who continued to fight after being injured are excluded, in fact, the remaining troops on the entire Dongning front line were only three battalions in strength.
In other words, the entire three columns, except for the three regiments of the One Brigade heading south to Laoheishan, are still relatively complete. The remaining two regiments of the One Brigade, which are the main force of the battle, have actually been disabled and are almost disabled. It has reached the point where we are at the end of our rope and can no longer fight without replenishment.
The current situation faced by the three columns, in which the four battalions did not supplement the attack force, but directly launched southward, was difficult for Sui Changqing to accept.