Yuan Su, who just arrived here from Fengtian yesterday, is listening to the reports from Zhao Shanhe and Chen Wenyuan.
In the past twenty days, the 1st Brigade of the 1st Corps of the Zhongyang Army and the two directly affiliated regiments, as well as the 3 regiments of the 10th Division of the Zhongyang Army, have completed preliminary deployment on the Liaodong Peninsula. The headquarters of the 1st Brigade was located in Gaizhou, at the entrance to the Liaodong Peninsula, while the headquarters of the 10th Division was located at Hada Monument, which was deep in the Japanese concession area.
Since the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1894 and the Treaty of Shimonoseki signed between Japan and the Qing Dynasty, the entire Liaodong Peninsula has now been classified as Japan's territory. The Liaodong Peninsula is vast and has a long connection with China's Liaoning and Shenyang. For China It is quite difficult to deploy the team's defense. And since the defensive-focused combat strategy has been formulated from the beginning, we still have to endure the risk that Japan may concentrate its forces to storm a position.
With Yuan Su currently having less than 20,000 troops, plus the local army in Liaoshen, the defense of the Liaodong Peninsula can only be based on important transportation passes. Therefore, the troops are generally concentrated in Yingkou and southern Anshan. , near Hada Monument in Dandong. The defense lines at Yingkou and Hada Monument were assumed by the central yang army, while Anshan was guarded by Fengtian Zhang Zuolin's 17th Division.
Tian Wenlie's Zhong Yang Second Division, which came from Bei Jing, arrived at Yingkou along with the follow-up troops of Zhong Yang's First Corps. The three brigades under his command, in accordance with the instructions of the United Front War Headquarters, mainly strengthened the defense line from Gaizhou to Yingkou. After all, Yingkou is the superior administrative unit of Gaizhou and is close to the coastal area. It can easily become a key target for the Japanese army.
After all, the Japanese army has always used its powerful navy to show off its power, and the only place where the Japanese navy can play a role in this battle is to use artillery to suppress the southeastern area of Yingkou.
Zhu Panzao's Central Yang Fifth Division arrived at Yingkou from Baoding ten days ago. After consultation with the Yingkou United Front Battle Headquarters, it stationed in Liangjiatun, located between Gaizhou and Hada Bei. Liangjiatun is located on the only stretch of land from Gaizhou to Dandong. The throat of the official road is also a place that ensures that Gaizhou and the Hada Monument defense line are closely connected. However, because this location is deep in the mountains, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, so it is a good strategic restriction point.
As of today, there are a total of three central yang divisions, an incomplete central yang corps and a local division on the Liaodong defense line, with a total strength of 70,000. According to intelligence statistics, there are two divisions of the Japanese army. There are nearly 60,000 people. Counting the regional railway escorts, logistics and baggage troops, police forces and colonial temporary mobilization troops, once the war starts, it will quickly expand to more than 100,000 people.
This only counts the Japanese troops in the Liaodong Peninsula. As the highest headquarters, it is natural to make the worst-case budget. Once the war in Liaodong escalates, the Japanese army is likely to increase its troops from North Korea. The Japanese have two regular troops in North Korea. The garrison divisions are the 19th Division and the 20th Division respectively. Like the 18th Division, they belong to Category B divisions, with a total strength of 40,000.
For various Chinese commanders, it is generally believed that the current quality of Chinese soldiers cannot compete with Japanese soldiers one-on-one, and even five-on-one is very difficult. The 70,000 troops on the Liaodong Defense Line Basically, even the Fifth Division and the Eighteenth Division are unable to cope with it, not to mention that once the Japanese army mobilizes more troops to fight, the 70,000 defenders will be useless.
However, at the military meeting held by the headquarters a few days ago, Yuan Su repeatedly emphasized that Japan did not dare and could not expand the war. Therefore, the only targets that need to be alerted on the Liaodong defense line are the 5th Division and the 18th Division.
group.
In order to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the defense line, the headquarters is not only actively establishing frontline recruit camps, conducting recruit training and expanding the establishment on the spot, but is also coordinating with the Border Defense Force Headquarters in Fengtian to ensure that logistics, reserves and the new border defense force sequence can be invested in an orderly manner.
Come to the defense line.
The Border Defense Force Headquarters is a military institution specially established to establish the border defense forces of the three eastern provinces after Xu Shuzheng arrived in Fengtian.
However, the work of establishing a border defense force was far more difficult than Yuan Su's local expansion of troops. Not only did he have to deal with various procedures and documents, but he also had to consider the impact that the establishment of the border defense force would have on the local army and local government.
Duan Qirui strongly recommended Xu Shuzheng as the military governor of the three eastern provinces. People who do not understand the market will only think that he is cultivating his personal power. However, the real intention of his move has been explained at the original military advisory meeting of the Presidential Palace.
That is to use the Qingdao issue to infiltrate fu forces into Liaodong.
It is undeniable that Duan Qirui is also a staunch executor of central yang. Today, the warlord forces in the three eastern provinces are not too serious. On the one hand, it is because of the intricate Japanese and Tsarist forces here. On the other hand, it is also because of the region.
It is very close to Bei Jing, and Bei Jing has a fairly good control over the three eastern provinces.
However, in view of the situation in the southwestern provinces of China, it is still necessary to strike first to prevent the three eastern provinces from going further.
It is precisely because of this centralized idea that the establishment of the border defense force has been hindered by local forces. If it were not for the Qingdao issue and the current rising domestic calls for opposition to Japan, Xu Shuzheng would have had to even establish the border defense force headquarters.
It took a lot of effort and a lot of time.
According to the description of the telegram sent by Xu Shuzheng to the Yingkou United Front War Headquarters, the designation of the Border Guard Army was just determined on October 18th. There are three corps in total, with three divisions, six brigades, and twenty
Seven regiments. The organizational structure of the border defense army is completely modeled on that of the central army. The full strength of a regiment is 25,000 people, and the permanent establishment is no less than 18,000 people. Fu has allocated a budget of 1.5 million.
In order to fund the establishment of the Border Guard Army, however, according to the latest calculations and statistics from Xu Shuzheng and the Border Guard Army Headquarters, it will take at least fifteen months to complete the establishment of the three corps, and five months to complete the establishment of the first corps.
time.
To put it simply, as Duan Qirui said, the border defense force is a force that considers long-term national defense. At present, apart from providing some momentum assistance, it does not provide any substantial help to the Liaodong defense line.
"How is the situation at Jiang Baili's side? I want to ensure that the supply of logistics supplies to all units on the front line is smooth." After hearing the report from the Fengtian border defense force on the defense line, Yuan Su turned to ask.
"Back to the Commander, Commander Chiang has sent a message this morning. All preliminary preparations for the Logistics Coordination Headquarters have been completed. The traffic roads leading to Hada Bei, Liangjiatun, and Gaizhou have also been reorganized. The post stations and transportation stations have been reorganized. Commander Chiang
The message said everything was safe," Adjutant Du Yu replied.
"How are the new barracks in the west of the city and the training team of the 10th Division Headquarters doing now? I'm afraid we don't have much time. We still have to work as hard as possible in areas that can be strengthened." Yuan Su said calmly,
Although he knew very well in his heart that improvised training on the front line was not of great significance to the overall situation, but it was still better to improve even a small amount of effect than to have no effect at all.
"The new military camp in the west of the city officially started recruiting new recruits yesterday, and the teaching team of the 10th Division had been organizing training three days ago. Captain Chen of the new military camp said that there are a lot of young men and women recruited from Yingkou, and the people are concerned about this.
I was very moved by the sub-country's recovery of Qingdao's sovereignty, and my mood was very warm." Du Yu said happily.
"It is indeed a good thing for young people to join the army enthusiastically. However, this place is very close to the Japanese war zone. In the early years, the Japanese made good use of craftsmanship to sneak into the enemy army to spy on the military situation. Now the recruitment here must be done well, no matter how much manpower is consumed.
Material resources cannot leave any disaster behind." Yuan Su warned.
"What your Excellency said is absolutely true. I have taken note of this matter and will pass it on immediately later." Du Yu nodded in agreement.
Later, Yuan Su reviewed the armament list sent by Luanzhou 101 Arsenal. From April to today, 101 Arsenal has rushed to produce 20,000 new rifles.
Originally, according to the productivity of the 101 Arsenal, it could only produce a maximum of fifty rifles a day. Because of the additional capital investment, the factory not only expanded the production line, but also recruited more technicians. During the day and night, there were three shifts
With continuous work, the factory productivity was greatly improved, and only then could the new rifles be equipped to the frontline troops in a timely manner.
In the past few days, new rifles have been gradually shipped from Luanzhou to Fengtian, and then distributed from Fengtian to Yingkou.
The First Corps and the Tenth Division on the front line are replacing weapons on a battalion basis. Considering that it is a new rifle after all, it will take some time for the soldiers to get familiar with it, so Yuan Su has approved all units that have replaced the new rifles.
Soldiers must undergo live-fire training with thirty rounds of ammunition every day. Anyway, the caliber of the new rifle is the same as that made in Hanyang, so there is no shortage of bullets for each regiment and battalion.
As for the replaced rifles, they were all collected together. The former Lee Enfeld rifles were transferred to Xu Shuzheng's Border Guard Command at a low price, while part of the Han-style rifles were kept at the Logistics Coordination Command in Fengtian and used as assembly equipment for recruiting new recruits on the front line.
The other part will be transported back to Luanzhou as a reserve of arms to be used for equipment when the military strength is expanded in the future.