As soon as Ouyang Yun finished speaking, Feng Yuxiang shouted: "Retreat and give up the Malan area? What if the Japanese attack directly on the Denver line?"
Ouyang Yun: "The Japs will not have this opportunity. Boss Gu and his group are retreating to Ganbang not to give up Malan, but to let the Japs in to catch turtles in the urn. If the Xiaolin Highlands are not lost, the Japs will not have a way to invade Malan in large numbers, and alone By airdrop, not to mention that our aviation units are either vegetarian or let them run wild, but with the Japs’ airborne capabilities, how many troops can they airdrop? Concentrate your strength to first destroy the enemies in Ganbang’s front, and then sweep along the coastline. Completely destroy the Japanese shipyards and docks along the coast. By that time, I think Koizumi Toshiichiro should worry about the safety of his base camp instead of thinking about counterattack, because as long as the Japanese coastal defenses are completely destroyed, our Yellow Sea Fleet will be able to fly in the air Under the cover of the troops, we provided fire support to the Third Expeditionary Army. With the fire support of the Yellow Sea Fleet, the Third Expeditionary Army was actually in an invincible position."
About a quarter of an hour later, Ma Lan pointed forward. Gu Zhutong, Sun Liren and others were gathered around the sand table to deduce the real-time battle reports returned from the front line. Suddenly, Wen Mingjian, the chief of staff of the Third Expeditionary Group Army, strode in, walking beside him. He said loudly: "The Supreme Command sent an urgent message, requesting the forward command to move to Ganbang immediately, all remaining troops to withdraw, and the defense fortifications to be completely demolished..."
Gu Zhutong and Sun Liren raised their heads from the sand table at the same time. The former frowned and said: "It's inexplicable. What does the high command want to do? This is a mess."
Probably guessing that Gu Zhutong would react like this, Wen Mingjian handed him the telegram and Wen Yan said, "Boss, please read the telegram. The reason is clearly explained in it."
Gu Zhutong took it and glanced at it, then his eyes froze. Later, he handed the message to Sun Liren and said, "You should also take a look." He turned to Wen Mingjian and asked, "Chief of Staff Wen, What’s your opinion?”
"I agree with the inference of the Supreme Command. I would rather believe it than believe it. Moreover, there is no obvious loss to me by giving up the Malan area where the previous finger is located..."
"Stop, there is no obvious loss. If the Japs' sneak attack was false and it was actually Xiaolin Heights, if we are still there, the Japs will have to airdrop at least one division to be effective. But if we withdraw, they will airdrop One brigade is enough. As long as they control this place, they can use troops against Xiaoling Highlands without any scruples. And if Xiaoling Highlands is captured, what will happen to the right wing of our army in Ganbang? On paper, this is obviously a mess. .”
Gu Zhutong has a very stubborn temper, especially on the battlefield. Ouyang Yun may not understand this, but Sun Liren and other old men from the Central Army know it very well. Objectively speaking, of course, the front finger cannot be faulted, but as Gu Zhutong As deduced, if the Japanese army's move was simply a secret attempt to assassinate Chencang and its real target was Xiaolin Heights, then the retreat of the front finger would be tantamount to falling into the trick of the little Japanese.
While Sun Liren was pondering, Gu Zhutong looked at him and asked, "Fu Min, what do you think?"
Sun Liren's eyes returned to the sand table. A few seconds later, just when Gu Zhutong began to become impatient, he said: "Actually, the key now is not whether the front finger should be moved, but whether Xiao Lin Gao can move it." If we can't hold it, as long as the Xiaoling Highlands are not lost, we can launch a breaking attack in Ganbang, defeating the enemy along one route first, and then follow the current to attack multiple routes. If we can defeat Xiaoling Heights in Ganbang before the Xiaoling Highlands are breached, Enemy forces, then we have established a victory. Boss, can you see that, in fact, no matter whether we stay here or not, we can't actually give much help to Xiaolin Highlands. Even if we still stay here, then the enemy only needs to airdrop a certain amount. The troops will be able to pin us down firmly. In other words, no matter whether their target is Xiaolin Heights or not, we can't help much even here. To be on the safe side, I think it is better to follow the instructions of the Supreme Command. Okay." After saying that, he took two steps closer to Gu Zhutong and lowered his voice and said to him: "Boss, it is the duty of soldiers to obey orders. There is really no need for us to argue with the Supreme Commander at this time."
Sun Liren's previous words made Gu Zhutong very angry, but after what he said next, he suppressed his anger and thought calmly, and finally agreed with his statement.
"Since you all have this opinion, then we will follow the arrangements of the Supreme Command. But I have something to say first. If the war fails due to this evacuation, the responsibility should be borne by the Supreme Command. Chief of Staff Wen, you will I Reply to the Supreme Command with this sentence."
The Forward Finger and the troops directly under it began to move towards the Ganbang area, and as soon as they left, the Japanese fighter planes broke through the blockade of the Chinese aviation force and appeared in the sky above the former Finger's location.
Chongqing, the Supreme Command, after the telegram was sent out, Ouyang Yun and others thought of the issues mentioned by Gu Zhutong, and their attention was suddenly attracted to Xiaolin Highlands, and they began to wait in agony.
Xiaolin Highlands, where the Third Expeditionary Army is responsible for defending is the 001 Brigade and the 4th Regiment of the 002 Brigade of the First Division of the National Defense Force under Zhang Lingfu.
The 001 Brigade came to Xiaolin Highlands half a month ago to replace the 049 Brigade of the 17th Division, and has not left since then. The fourth regiment of the 002 Brigade was ordered to support the 001 Brigade a week ago, and was killed after it reached the highlands. The Japanese blocked the circuit and were forced to stay.
In a twenty-four-hour day, there are almost only one or two hours without fighting. Therefore, although Kim Jong-hwa, the commander of the 001 brigade, has done a good job in coordination and uses a rotation system to ensure that everyone can get a certain amount of rest time every day, but for a long time The nerve-wracking combat life still made all the expedition officers and soldiers on the Xiaolin Highlands exhausted.
Since a week ago, the troops' supplies have been obtained by airdrop, which has become the biggest daily test for this mixed force. The Chinese pilots responsible for airdropping supplies can only carry out airdrop operations when there is harassment from Japanese aircraft. Naturally, it is difficult for them to do so. The Japanese are obviously aware of the importance of these air-dropped supplies to the defenders, so they will try their best to launch attacks at this time to prevent the defenders from receiving supplies smoothly.
Some time ago, because the Japanese army reduced the troops near the highlands, the defenders received supplies smoothly. However, today, because the number of Japanese troops is almost ten times greater than yesterday, it will be a huge test for the defenders.
"It may be very troublesome to receive supplies today." Kim Jong-hwa was worried about this as early as when the Japanese army began to increase its troops. But when this moment really came, he became a bachelor: "Brothers, do Be prepared, supplies are coming soon."